Baku, Azerbaijan, April 19
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
The US did not respond to Turkey’s offer to establish a joint commission to check the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, Trend reports referring to Turkish media.
In his words, the US must understand that Turkey is in dire need of defending its airspace. “The Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems do not pose a threat to NATO and the US,” the Minister noted.
On April 11, Cavusoglu said that specialists from the US and NATO could come to Turkey to make sure that the Russian S-400 air defense systems do not pose a threat to NATO. "Although the US urges Turkey to abandon the purchase of Russian S-400 air defense missile systems, it does not guarantee that it will sell us Patriot air defense systems," he said .
As US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced earlier, the US believes that Turkey will not be able to have both American F-35 fighter-bombers and Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems at the same time, as this is technically impossible. “According to Pentagon sources, is not possible to launch the F-35 in the space where the S-400 is operated,” he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed Turkey may receive the S-400 missile systems earlier than scheduled. According to the President, it was expected that Turkey would receive the first supplies of S-400 missile systems in July 2019.
He noted that despite appeals from the US, Turkey will not abandon the purchase of the S-400. "This issue has been already resolved by Turkey," said Erdogan.
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