Broad US opposition to Turkish purchase of S-400
“This is going to be a tough call for Turkey,” Clark continued, because Russian President Vladimir Putin has “really made some important offers.” Turkey is also “looking at the situation in Syria.” Russian forces are there, Clark noted, but “the US is pulling out.”
“There’s a lot of considerations that Mr. Erdogan is facing, and I just hope that he makes the right decision,” he concluded.
Clark also had high praise for the Kurds, noting that the US has “been involved with Kurdistan” for the past 28 years—“since the end of the [1991] Gulf war.”
The Kurds “have been phenomenal allies to the United States, not only against ISIS, but before that.” They’ve helped promote “the Westernization of Iraq,” and so “we’re very comfortable with the Kurdish people,” he said.
We “respect them” and “value their friendship,” Clark continued, as he offered the reassurance, “I’m sure that the United States is going to do whatever it can to protect the people of Kurdistan.”
Last week, a high-level Turkish delegation visited Washington, including Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law; Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan’s Special Advisor and Spokesperson; as well as Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar. They all failed to resolve the S-400 dispute, even though Albayrak met with Donald Trump himself.
Related Article: US-Turkish standoff continues over S-400 as Turkish delegation leaves Washington
Indeed, on Tuesday, Akar, as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, again reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to the S-400. “It is a done deal,” Cavusoglu said, and there is no “interim formula” involving third parties.
The US has not, as yet, responded publicly to the latest Turkish statements.
Paul Davis, a former Pentagon analyst and now a Senior Fellow at Soran University, put it starkly to Kurdistan 24. “If Turkey acquires the S-400, it can’t stay in NATO,” he said.
The problem, as Davis explained, is “for the S-400 to work, it has to be integrated into the NATO control system,” and that would allow Russia to understand and counter the NATO system.
The Russian press has suggested that there is, for Putin, a strategic objective in his determined courting of Erdogan: undermining the NATO alliance.
“Without firing a single shot, deploying a single tank or using a single internet troll, Moscow can soon destroy the unity of NATO by removing a key country from its military network,” an op-ed in the Russian-language Republic stated.
On Tuesday, Al-Monitor columnist, Metin Gurcan, expressed his doubts about the ability of Ankara and Washington to reach an understanding on the S-400.
“The basic factor that determines Ankara’s course is the personal political future of Erdogan," Gurcan wrote, citing a Turkish government source.
“Putin is the person who best understands Erdogan,” this source continued. “The personal relationship between Putin and Erdogan is one of the most basic parameters of the S-400 crisis. I think Washington doesn’t pay too much attention to this parameter.”
Is Washington prepared for the real possibility that Turkey will soon take delivery of the S-400? Davis thinks not. “We’re really unimaginative,” he complained.
“The whole area is failed or dysfunctional: Iraq, Syria, and now, Turkey. We keep trying to restore what used to exist, but it’s not possible to bring it back,” he continued. “So what are we going to do?”
Editing by Nadia Riva