Done Deal: Russian S-400s Begin Arriving in Turkey
Erdogan didn't flinch — now it's up to Washington to CAATSA sanction a NATO ally as threatened
Russian and Turkish state sources confirmed Wednesday that deliveries of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems are now underway, with parts for the advanced Russian systems already having arrived in Turkey via transport planes with a team of Russian specialists, reportedly in the eastern Anatolian city of Malatya as well as the capital of Ankara.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced of the provocative transfer which has for the past year been met with condemnation by the United States – including the threat of sanctions and blockage of F-35s to Turkey – that “Deliveries of Russian S-400 complexes to Turkey are carried out as planned.”
The US this week again warned of “real and negative” consequences if Turkey completes the purchase of the S-400, which is now definitively a done deal with the S-400 equipment arrivals in Turkey. “Those consequences include participation in the F-35 program,” a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.
Turkey, for its part, shot back on Wednesday that the US must avoid taking the “wrong steps,” with the foreign ministry saying in a statement, “We are inviting the US to avoid taking the wrong steps which would exclude diplomacy and dialogue and harm relations.”
Starting months ago Turkey consistently affirmed it’s “a done deal” and that there would be no cancellation, even as Washington urged “alternatives” such as US Patriot missiles.
But as of today it now appears there’s no further dialogue to be had on the S-400, which early this week President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared would be a positive development for the defense of the region “and for the world”. On Wednesday Erdogan further described to reporters:
“Some people have a question about why we buy the S-400, why we make such an investment. If we have to, we will have the right to use them. If someone attacks us, we will use these air defense systems. That’s why we make such an investment.”
Interestingly, the new US Ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield, just arrived in the country to take up his post at the US Embassy in Ankara on same day the S-400 deliveries began.
The State Department’s stance is that “nothing has changed” concerning US resistance to the S-400 deal. Concerns have been driven over fears that it would allow Russia to access sensitive information on the defenses of NATO aircraft, especially if Turkey’s military is simultaneously operating the Lockheed Martin made F-35 advanced stealth fighter.
“The Turkish authorities know the legislation that has been passed in Congress as it relates to CAATSA,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on Tuesday . “We have said that Turkey will face real and negative consequences if they accept the S-400, including participation in the F-35 program.”
At least two batches of the S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries are expected to be delivered in total, however, they likely won’t be ready for deployment until October, according to reports.
The question of which side decides to blink or compromise first will be interesting, given we’re now past the point of no return.
Source: Zero Hedge
“Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.”
…your move North American Terrorist Org.
An excellent way to protect your own airspace from the – Un Wanted.
I’ve learned the following from reading an interview with a man named Mark Sleboda, a Moscow-based security analyst. They are not widely-known facts but play into Turkey’s S-400 purchase.
During the Gulf War with Saddam Hussein, his French-made air defense system was shut down remotely. They can’t do that with a Russian system.
During the Turkish coup, air force pilots in Western fighters tried to shoot Erdogan. The Turkish Western-made air defenses wouldn’t work against their planes. A Russian air system would.
Turkey’s air force is one of its most Westernized parts of the military because it uses a lot Western equipment and receives a lot of training in the West.
The S-400 is a way to help protect against Erdogan’s own military.
IMO.
S-400 is a system which makes a country independent, more confident knowing S-400 is a class-system and defending its country is the uptimum system of its airspace and its people and country.
There is no comparable system at the moment or years to come to this russian S-400 system. That is why the ISUS Administration* is balking of Turkey so loud.
*ISUS = US Administration ruled by AIPAC