ANKARA
India’s and Türkiye’s purchases of Russia’s S-400 missile defense are two different cases, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
At a press conference, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh was asked why the United States took certain steps against Türkiye to obtain the S-400s, while it did not with India, in a case of unequal treatment. Both countries bought the missile systems well before the start of the war in Ukraine last year, but amid longstanding tensions in US ties with Russia.
“We encourage all our partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia. That is something we have continued to reiterate with Turkey, India and others,” Singh said.
“I think there are two very different and different cases, and when it comes to India, we remain confident in their diversification of teams and our ability to integrate with them as well,” he added.
In 2017, when its protracted efforts to purchase a US air defense system proved futile, Türkiye signed a contract with Russia to procure a state-of-the-art S-400 system.
US officials expressed opposition to its deployment, claiming that the S-400 would be incompatible with NATO systems.
Türkiye, however, stressed that the S-400s would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance or its armaments. Ankara has repeatedly proposed setting up a commission to clarify the issue.
In 2019, then-President Donald Trump removed Türkiye from the F-35 stealth fighter program over Ankara’s purchase of the system, which US officials say poses risks to F-35s, including the possibility that Russia could use the system covertly to obtain classified details. on the plane
Türkiye ordered some 100 F-35s, and its defense sector played a leading role in developing and manufacturing fifth-generation fighter jets. Turkish officials have said the US owes Türkiye $1.4 billion for the F-35s it paid for but the US never delivered.
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