Turkey’s long-planned use of Russian anti-aircraft missile systems will not be reversed, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists on Friday as he was flying home from a summit of NATO leaders in Brussels. Western media claimed the US was negotiating a possible transfer of the weapons from Turkey to Ukraine, while offering various defense concessions in return.
“This is a done deal for us. They are our property serving our defense, so it’s over,” the Turkish leader said, when asked about the S-400 systems.
Donald Trump’s US government kicked Ankara out of the F-35 program in retaliation for buying Russian military hardware, back in 2019.
Erdogan said his country’s reaction to the transfer idea was well-summarized in a letter from his spokesman, Fahrettin Altun, published by the Wall Street Journal this week. The official said the current US administration should reverse Trump’s move without any preconditions, in order to repair relations.