Turkey not to Depend on US for Air Defense, Use S-400 Systems Instead

Turkey will not depend on the US for air defense and use the S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries it plans to acquire from Russia ‘if necessary,’ Turkish President Erdogan said.

“We will not just buy the S-400s and place them in a storehouse. We will use them if need be. This is a defense system. What are we going to do with it if not use this defense system? Are we going to depend on the US again? When we have been demanding from them for years, the answer that has been given to us is: The [US] Congress is not allowing. We are tired of this,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying by Hurriyet Daily Monday.

“Russia has responded with a pretty alluring offer. They said they would even get into a joint production. And with respect to loans, they have offered us pretty good loan terms. Right now, we are running this process as this,” the president said.

Erdoğan made the remarks during a joint live broadcast by private TV channels TGRT Haber, TVNET, Beyaz TV and Akit TV in Istanbul.

Turkey and Russia signed the S-400 accord in December, finalizing a deal which deepened military ties between NATO member Turkey and the Kremlin.