Defense minister says Turkey to use S-400s, open to address US concerns

Photo: AA/File

Turkey will use the S-400 missile defense system it procured from Russia just as other members of NATO use S-300 defense systems, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar has said.

S-300 defense systems are the older version of the S-400 series, which Turkey tested for the first time late October. 

"Just as the S-300 [missile defense] system, which exists in some NATO member states, is used in NATO alliance, the S-400 system will also be used [in Turkey] in the same way," Akar told the members of the parliament's Planning and Budget Committee.

Russia has sold the S-300 system to 20 countries, including NATO member countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, and Slovakia.

Akar noted that Turkey would continue on the control and preparation process of the S-400 system "as planned."

He called on the US to form a joint working group on the compatibility of the S-400 system and F-35 stealth fighter jets.

"We're ready to discuss the technical concerns of the US on the compatibility of S-400s and F-35s."

Ankara and Moscow signed the agreement for the purchase of the S-400s after the failed coup in 2016. The first batch of the missiles was delivered to Turkey last July. 

The US officially removed Turkey from the F-35 joint strike fighter program in July 2019 over Ankara's decision to buy the air defense system.

It could also sanction Turkey as part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which President Donald Trump has refrained from doing so far. (VK)