Defense News:
BRUSSELS ― Turkey’s foreign minister defended his government’s choice Wednesday to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system, presenting it as the second-best option only because NATO allies declined to sell Western hardware.
Speaking during a panel discussion on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu claimed the Russian-made system poses no threat to the rest of the alliance members, though he offered no argument for his position.
Western issue experts view the purchase from Russia as risky because the system could pose a serious security risk when integrated into allied networks ― if that is possible at all. In addition, Turkey buying from Moscow sends a signal of division among NATO members, the argument goes.
“I tried to buy from my allies,” Çavuşoğlu said. “I wanted to buy from the U.S. for the last 10 years; it didn’t work. I couldn’t buy from NATO allies, so Russia gave me the best proposal. And now I’m buying from Russia.”
