US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday warned Turkey that it could risk its membership in NATO if it goes ahead with plans to buy a Russian air defense system, despite widespread US and international opposition.
Pence’s escalating rhetoric came after Turkey insisted that the Russian deal was done, signaling an apparent impasse between the two NATO allies.
Speaking at a NATO 70th anniversary event, Pence said Turkey risks expulsion from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which could cripple Turkish manufacturers, who are making parts for the aircraft, and he raised the possibility of much broader recriminations.
Photo: AP
“Turkey must choose,” Pence said. “Does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in the history of the world or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?”
However, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared unmoved by the US threats, saying that buying the Russian S-400 system “is a done deal. We will not step back from this.”
Washington has offered to sell Turkey the US-made Patriot missile defense system, but Cavusoglu said that it could not be delivered in time.
“We couldn’t get it for 10 years,” Cavusoglu said at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday morning. “That’s why we had to buy from Russia, and we tried to buy from other allies as well. It didn’t work. So it is an urgent need of Turkey. I mean, we need air defense systems urgently in Turkey.”
On Monday, the Pentagon took its first retaliatory step and stopped delivery of F-35 parts and manuals to Turkey, but so far Turkish pilots continue to train on the aircraft at Luke Air Force Base outside Phoenix, Arizona.
Pentagon leaders said that there is still hope for some type of negotiated settlement.
“We haven’t given up on trying to work our way through this,” said General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We’ve made what we think is a very good offer for the Patriot to provide for the air defense capabilities of Turkey.”
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