Ortagus did say that Turkey is a “longstanding NATO ally” and described it as “crucial to us in the fight against ISIS,” but her message was clear.
Also on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone.
Judd Deere, Deputy White House Press Secretary, summarized the conversation. “The two leaders discussed a number of bilateral issues, including their shared desire to increase trade” and “the President’s decision to reduce steel tariffs on Turkey from 50 percent to 25 percent,” he said.
Significantly, they also discussed, “Turkey’s planned purchase of the S-400 missile defense system, and the opportunity to continue the discussion during the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, next month.”
In a very crucial respect, the White House account differs from the Turkish read-out of the discussion, as provided by Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan’s Communications Director.
“Our President has reiterated the proposal to establish a joint working group on the S-400 defense system, which is planned to be procured from the Russian Federation as a requirement of our national security,” Altun tweeted.
Say?n Cumhurba?kan?m?z, ulusal güvenli?imizin gere?i olarak Rusya Federasyonu’ndan tedarik edilmesi planlanan S-400 savunma sistemi konusunda ortak bir çal??ma grubu kurulmas? teklifini yinelemi?lerdir.
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) May 29, 2019
Not only did Altun reaffirm—once again—Turkey’s intent to acquire the S-400, but, unlike his statement, the White House read-out of the two presidents’ conversation said nothing about Turkey’s proposed S-400 working group.
Ankara has repeatedly raised the idea of an S-400 working group. Just last month, Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon dismissed it, saying, “A technical working group at this stage isn’t necessary or a path the US is even considering.”
“We have been clear with Turkey at all levels: the S-400 is a threat to the F-35 program and the safety of our NATO allies,” Pahon said then.
On Wednesday, Pahon explained that the US was "willing to engage in further discussions with the Government of Turkey” regarding the S-400, but the Pentagon had expressed its “concerns on the S-400 and the consequences it could have on the US and NATO defense relationships with Turkey.”
Notably, only Turkey—and no US official—even mentioned the idea of an S-400 working group. Whether that is because the issue did not really arise or because the US is unwilling to consider it, is not known.
Dr. Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish parliamentarian and now a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, last week provided Kurdistan 24 his assessment of the situation surrounding Turkey’s planned purchase of the S-400.