Turkey's turn toward Russia mars NATO's 70th anniversary celebration
 

Turkey's turn toward Russia mars NATO's 70th anniversary celebration
By: Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner - April 02, 2019 04:39 PM
Re: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...ry-celebration

The Trump administration's decision not to send cutting-edge fighter jets to Turkey could foreshadow a breakdown in military cooperation and even a U.S. blacklist against the key NATO ally due to its turn toward Russia.

Pentagon officials notified Turkey yesterday that they have stopped preparing to transfer the two F-35s Turkey has purchased, just days before this week’s summit in Washington commemorating the 70th anniversary of the transatlantic alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has refused to cancel a deal to import Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile defense systems, despite warnings from the United States that it would withhold the F-35s to prevent Russian specialists from learning how to track the stealthy warplanes.

“We have made very clear to Turkey that its acquisition of the S-400 will result in a reassessment of Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program and risk other potential future arms transfers — as well as potentially trigger sanctions by the United States,” a senior State Department official told reporters Tuesday. “That has been our consistent message to Turkey across the board from the Pentagon, the White House, and the State Department.”

The incoming NATO commander sent the same message Tuesday at his Senate confirmation hearing. “We all understand that Turkey is an important ally in the region, but it's absolutely unsustainable to support co-location of an F-35 and S-400,” said Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, the administration's nominee to head U.S. European Command and serve as NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe.

“The S-400 and the F-35 are not compatible, and if Turkey proceeds down a path to procure and operate the S-400, they should not get the F-35," Wolters declared.

Turkey defended the agreement last year by suggesting it was forced to turn to Russia after the United States decided to withdraw Patriot missile batteries in 2015. But Erdoğan persisted with the pact even after the Trump administration approved the sale of Patriots to Turkey in December, even saying, "Later, we may work with S-500s.”

That defiant posture left U.S. officials with little choice but to deny Turkey the most advanced American fighter jet in operation, according to the Pentagon. “The S-400 is a computer. The F-35 is a computer. You don’t hook your computer to your adversary’s computer, and that’s basically what we would be doing,” Katie Wheelbarger, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said last month.

Turkey could also be sanctioned under a federal law that allows the blacklisting of any entity that makes major arms deals with Moscow. But Trump’s team is trying to take a hard line on the S-400s without driving Turkey further into the Kremlin’s arms.

"[i]t has been made clear to Turkey by the United States at the highest levels, on many, many occasions, that we have very serious concerns about its stated plans to proceed with the acquisition of the S-400 missile defense system and that there will be potential consequences within sanctions law and the F-35 program if they continue," the senior State Department official said Tuesday.

“Our relationship is not being defined by the single issue of the S-400. But the S-400 is a deeply problematic issue for the United States, and we have made that clear to Turkey.”

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Personal Note:

NATO is feeling the with-draw of many lately - Poland is now out of the circle. The breakdown will continue most likely? Russia and China will no doubt start up their own pac with those that leave NATO. They are always hungry to sell their weapons and to get contacts in those countries.

Boats