Turkey & Washington sees difficulties over Missile deal

Turkey is a NATO member and earlier had forged close cooperation with Russia over conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. They have issues in the defence and energy area as well. Bringing the USA into the conflict belt is another whole discussion altogether. There has been a long list of outstanding ad grave issues between Turkey and the US. Ankara, the capital of Turkey purchased the S-400 system and its subsequent expulsion from the F-35 project and are almost sure to be raised because of the importance the US attributes to them. 

 

Under the presidency of Donald Trump, Turkey was very hopeful that President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has easy access to the White House and it will be maintained afterwards too. However, post-Joe Biden’s election, Turkey continued to hope that, because of its strategic location for NATO, the US would appreciate its importance and not go far in punishing it for the steps it has taken to distance itself from the Atlantic alliance. They both have laid terms of defence doctrine and the acquisition of military materiel that is incompatible with NATO infrastructure.

 

After a long wait when Joe Biden called Erdogan, he disclosed about new steps that were taken in Turkey’s expulsion from the F-35 advanced fighter jet program. Frank Kendall, Biden’s nominee for Air Force secretary, said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would press on with ending Turkey’s role in the production of parts for the F-35 joint strike fighter. Previously also, he asserted his distaste by not supporting a cut to F-35 procurement but, on insistent demand by Sen. In February, Turkey signed a contract of $750,000 Washington-based company to lobby for it staying in the program, but it has not been able to block the process. Though now they have been informed of the expulsion, the manufacture of certain components has continued either because Turkey was the sole manufacturer or the mother company, and Lockheed Martin, could not find another substitute for it yet. The US stands as a strong opponent in this deal because they had banned Turkey from purchasing F-35s, while the ones already sold to it will not be delivered. A tough legal battle is likely to be fought in the US courts to clear the contentious issues connected to the termination of this contract.

 

Questing, the S-400 missile defence system which is Turkey’s Russia-made, they have been expelled from the F-35 program, and the dilemma will be transferred to the Turkish military base in Qatar. However, the meeting between Erdogan and Biden at the NATO summit on June 14 and will be clear afterwards only if this meeting brings any improvement in the deal or worsens it more.