Mustafa Şentop, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, said in an August 5 2019 Arabic-language interview on Russia Today TV that Turkey's recent deal to acquire S-400 missile systems from Russia does not have any implications on Turkey's commitment to NATO or on its alliance with the United States, despite American objection to the deal. Saying that using the S-400 deal as a pretext for expelling Turkey from NATO is absurd, Şentop explained that Turkey had initially attempted to purchase Patriot missiles systems from the U.S., but that when the deal fell through and when NATO withdrew its Patriot batteries from Turkey in 2015, Turkey had no choice but to seek out other options for its defense. Şentop also said that any attempt on the part of the U.S. to sanction Turkey by means of preventing it from acquiring F-35 jets would have catastrophic implications on U.S.-Turkey relations, particularly since Turkey has played a part in the F-35 project.
Turkish Parliament Speaker: Any US Attempt to Prevent Us Acquiring F-35 Jets Would Impact Relations
Mustafa Şentop, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, said in an August 5 2019 Arabic-language interview on Russia Today TV that Turkey's recent deal to acquire S-400 missile systems from Russia does not have any implications on Turkey's commitment to NATO or on its alliance with the United States, despite American objection to the deal. Saying that using the S-400 deal as a pretext for expelling Turkey from NATO is absurd, Şentop explained that Turkey had initially attempted to purchase Patriot missiles systems from the U.S., but that when the deal fell through and when NATO withdrew its Patriot batteries from Turkey in 2015, Turkey had no choice but to seek out other options for its defense. Şentop also said that any attempt on the part of the U.S. to sanction Turkey by means of preventing it from acquiring F-35 jets would have catastrophic implications on U.S.-Turkey relations, particularly since Turkey has played a part in the F-35 project.
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