ANI
22 Nov 2019, 19:07 GMT+10
Moscow [Russia], Nov 22 (ANI): A senior US State Department official on Thursday (local time) urged Turkey to denounce the Russian S-400 air defence systems, in an apparent suggestion to Ankara to get back to the F-35 stealth fighter programme.
"There is room for Turkey to come back to the table. They know that to make this work they need to either destroy or return or somehow get rid of the S-400", a State Department official told reporters at a briefing.
"They [Turkish authorities] know that they have the choice to move forward and the choice is to rid themselves of the S-400 so that we can move forward", adding that Washington might impose sanctions if Ankara refuses to cooperate.
The development comes a week after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to ditch the S-400 air defence systems that Ankara has purchased from Russia, stating it is "not right", Sputnik reported.
Erdogan noted that his country is ready to buy Patriot systems from the US on favourable terms, but dismissed the US demands as meddling in Turkey's sovereign affairs.
Russia and Turkey signed a loan agreement for the supply of S-400 air defence systems in September 2017 that resulted in the US suspending deliveries of F-35 fighter jets to its NATO ally.
Washington refused to provide Turkey with the aircraft, claiming that the S-400 deal is incompatible with the alliance's military equipment and might compromise the operations of the new fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. Ankara has stuck to its agreement with Russia and refused to back down.
After a meeting with Erdogan on November 13, Trump told reporters that Ankara's "acquisition of the S-400 creates some very serious challenges for us," yet no agreement was reached on limiting or cancelling the purchase.
However, Erdogan had refuted Trump's attempts to convince him to walk away from the deal with Moscow, saying "We currently have a bilateral relationship with Russia. We cannot set aside our strategic relationship."Trump's proposal was "an infringement on our sovereign rights," Turkish broadcaster NTV quoted Erdogan as saying. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Greek Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Greek Herald.
More InformationGENEVA, Switzerland: A new United Nations report alleges that dozens of global corporations are profiting from and helping sustain...
LONDON/STOCKHOLM: The Persson family is ramping up its investment in the H&M fashion empire, fueling renewed speculation about a potential...
LONDON, U.K.: British oil giant Shell has denied reports that it is in talks to acquire rival oil company BP. The Wall Street Journal...
SYDNEY, Australia: Australia will not ease its strict biosecurity rules during trade talks with the United States, Prime Minister Anthony...
BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- No dull rows of chairs and tables, no endless slides of charts and numbers -- instead, a gleaming statue...
KHARTOUM, July 5 (Xinhua) -- After more than two years of devastating conflict, Sudan's capital Khartoum is slowly emerging from the...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
ISTANBUL/PARIS/BRUSSELS: As searing temperatures blanket much of Europe, wildfires are erupting and evacuation orders are being issued...
With Gaza still burning and corruption charges mounting, Israels prime minister arrives in D.C. looking for favors, not peace Fresh...
Abu Dhabi [UAE], July 5 (ANI/WAM): President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President...
(Photo credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images) The last-place Connecticut Sun are hopeful a promising addition to the roster will make...
More than 200kg of uranium enriched to 60% are missing, according to the journalist Last month's US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities...