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NATO warns Turkey against the use of Russian air defense systems
NATO has raised concerns over reports that Alliance member Turkey first used the Russian S-400 missile defense system during an exercise. “This system may pose a risk to allied aircraft and affect relations between the allies,” a spokeswoman for the German press agency said on Saturday. It is important that Turkey continues to seek alternative solutions with other allies. The decision is a national matter for Turkey, but the S-400 system cannot be integrated into NATO’s air defense and anti-missile system.
Turkish media had previously reported that the Ankara government tested the surface-to-air missiles for the first time in operational conditions near the Black Sea city of Sinop on Friday. “Any test of the S-400 air defense system by Turkey, if confirmed, would be regrettable,” the NATO spokeswoman said.
Similar comments had previously been made on the issue in Washington. The United States has already excluded Turkey, its NATO partner, from the F-35 fighter jet program due to the purchase of the Russian missile system. Therefore, the US sanctions against Turkey are also threatened.
Turkey, on the other hand, argues that it needs its own missile defense system against threats from neighboring Syria, a country with a civil war, but also from Germany. According to his presentation, he did not receive any reasonable alternative offers from the alliance partners.
The S-400 is a mobile air defense system that can shoot aircraft, projectiles, and other objects out of the sky. The units, which usually consist of several missiles, a radar and a command post, can be transported by truck. The S-400 can work with short, medium and long-range missiles. (aeg / sda / dpa)
