China.org.cn:
Turkey is faced with the tough decision of choosing between two competing missile systems for its defense requirements, but some experts believe that the NATO country could be compelled to select the U.S. Patriot against the Russian S-400.
Amid a reconciliation process between Washington and Ankara, two NATO partners since 1952, the U.S. State Department announced on Dec. 18 that it approved the possible sale of 3.5-billion-U.S.-dollar Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to Turkey.
The approval is an attempt by the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to get Turkey to give up its plan to purchase the Russian-made advanced S-400 missile system. Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation prior to the U.S. decision on troops withdrawal from Syria. The two leaders reportedly also discussed the sale of Patriot in the conversation.
