Turkey, US head to new crisis over Ankara’s S-400 purchase
Washington’s threats of dire consequences for Turkey if it goes ahead with the Russian air-defense deal are being disregarded by Ankara.
The standoff between Turkey and the United States over Ankara’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 missile-defense systems is coming to head and pointing to a fresh crisis in Turkish-US ties.
Many expect Turkey’s deployment of the S-400s to rekindle the debate on whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey belongs in the Western alliance.
The ultimate decision on the S-400s rests with Erdogan, as the sole authority in Turkey today, and he appears determined to go ahead with the deal concluded with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
“There is no point in discussing this anymore because we have concluded the deal with Mr. Putin and Russia,” Erdogan said in a jointly televised interview with Turkish channels last week.
