U.S. and Turkey escalate feud over S-400 systems; Ilter Turan
“The US objection to Turkey regarding the purchase of Russian-made S-400 systems has a political and security basis,” said Ilter Turan, a professor of international relations at Bilgi University in Istanbul.
Speaking to ILNA news agency, he added that S-400 systems is not integrated with NATO's national defense system.
Turan warned that buying S-400 missiles from Russia has exacerbated the crisis between Washington and Ankara.
Tensions between the United States and Turkey have reached a fever pitch in recent months with Turkey set to begin receiving the advanced surface-to-air missile system, which Washington said will jeopardize Turkey’s role in the U.S. F-35 fighter jet program and could trigger congressional sanctions.
Turan said that Trump Administration has not yet suspended the sale of U.S. F-35 fighter jet to Turkey, but we see a huge resistance from U.S Congress to ban selling weapons to Turkey, and it should be noted that the influence of the White House against Congress is limited.
The deployment of the air defense systems “may not reach June, but they will arrive in the following months. The process has started,” Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said late on May 27 speaking at an interview on HaberTurk broadcaster.
Ilter Turan said that U.S Congress is expected to ban the sale of F-35 fighter to Turkey by the arrival of S-400 missiles in Turkey.
He also refers to Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen and said that the main goal of Turkey is to neutralize Gulen and his activities. United States and Turkish government have tried, but the extradition of Gulen according to the U.S. legal structure seems unlikely, and Turkey has accepted it.
Turkish goverment says Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who has been living in Pennsylvania since the late 1990s, was involved in a failed coup in 2016. The government has requested the U.S. send him back to Turkey.
Dr. Ilter Turan is the President of the International Political Science Association and Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Department of International Relations of Istanbul Bilgi University, with previous positions at Istanbul and Koç Universities. He is the author of books and articles in English and Turkish on Comparative Politics, Turkish Politics and Turkish Foreign Policy.
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