Former Turkish Ambassador to Russia Yardim spoke about the history of Ankara's purchase of the S-400
The United States is actively interested in the prospects of Ankara using the S-400 air defense system purchased from Russia, Cumhuriyet writes. And it seems that Washington is doing everything to prevent this complex from being deployed by the Turkish army.
Batu Bozkürk
After the missile launches from Iran, Turkey is discussing its air defense. The interception of missiles by a NATO ship and the subsequent deployment of additional Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems by the alliance in Turkey recalled the S-400 system previously acquired by Ankara from Russia. When asked why the S-400, purchased in 2017 and delivered in 2019, was not used to intercept missiles, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense replied that "the NATO system automatically selects and launches the most suitable and fastest means of interception."
In this situation, the system may not be used at all.
The Turkish Defense Ministry's response suggests that the S-400 may not be used at all. After all, weapons developed by Russia, allegedly, cannot be integrated into the NATO system. The Turkish Minister of National Defense, Yaşar Güler, stated in an interview with the Posta newspaper on March 6: "After acquiring this system (S-400), we informed our American colleagues about our concept of stand-alone use, without integration with NATO systems. As a result, we still consider this idea to be the most reasonable solution." Although Guler's statement was presented in some media outlets as "we are using the S-400 autonomously," the words "idea" and "solution" do not necessarily indicate this.
Umit Yardim answers the questions
So why, how and for what price did Turkey purchase the S-400? Was it possible at that time to purchase Patriot from the USA? Were the S-400s allegedly bought to protect against a possible attack from NATO, or even to protect the presidential palace in Beshtepe? Is it possible today to transfer the S-400 to Russia or another country to solve the problem with the F-35? Umit Yardim, who served as Turkey's ambassador to Moscow from 2014 to 2016, answered these questions in an interview with Cumhuriyet.
Regarding the purchase process, Yardim said: "In the early 2010s, Turkey approached the United States with a request to purchase the Patriot air defense system. The United States reacted positively to the deal, but there were difficulties with the “transfer of technology.” Later, during Trump's first term (2017-2021), Turkish-American relations began to deteriorate. Then Turkey turned to Russia."
Did the downed plane have an impact?
To the question "did the Russian military aircraft shot down by Turkey in 2015 play any role in the turn to Russia?" the ex-ambassador replied: "It was a decision made solely at the political level, and it could have an impact. Relations with Russia soured then. The opinion that the purchase of the S-400 was used as a political tool to establish relations has always been expressed. I don't rule it out either. Such steps are used in the Middle East. Political problems with Russia, as well as tensions in Turkish-American relations at that time, prompted Turkey to use other channels. They wanted to make it clear to the United States that Ankara has other options."
"The price can be in the tens of billions of dollars"
So how much did Turkey pay for the S-400? Although the amount of $ 2.5 billion is being publicly announced, former trade adviser Aydın Sezer, who previously worked in Moscow, stated that the second batch of S-400 had not arrived and that, taking into account the loan, Turkey had paid a maximum of $ 1.25 billion. Umit Yardim, in turn, draws attention to the side costs: "After the purchase of the S-400, there were assessments that Turkey is a “so-called partner” in NATO. Relations with the United States have deteriorated. The Biden resolution on the ”Armenian genocide" of 2021 can be defined as a political continuation of this process. The United States has become closer to Greece on Southern Cyprus (as the Republic of Cyprus is called in Turkey, in contrast to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara). InoSMI). Restrictions have been imposed on Turkey under the law on Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions (CAATSA). We were excluded from the F-35 program. The Turkish defense industry has suffered. If you add it all up, you get an amount that can be expressed not in one or 2.5 billion dollars, but in tens of billions."
It was said that the S-400 "were bought to protect the palace."
Despite all this, the "technology transfer", the lack of which was a problem when trying to purchase Patriot from the United States, did not take place with the acquisition of the S-400. Umit Yardim attributes this to Turkey's desire to restore relations with the United States. On the other hand, assessments such as "they were bought against a possible threat from NATO" or "they were purchased to protect the palace" were voiced about the S-400. The diplomat noted: "I don't agree with that. And under the current conditions, Turkey could not enter into hostile relations with NATO. They wanted to give the Alliance a signal: 'We can look in other directions.'“
"Simply put, throw it in the trash"
So how will the problem with the S-400 be solved? The U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barrack, said in two separate statements in January and December that the issue of S-400 interoperability had been resolved, and the issue of use would be resolved within four to six months. In other words, the diplomat said that Turkey "does not exploit" the system and will "get rid" of it. On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Turkey is the end user of the S-400 and cannot transfer the system to third countries. Umit Yardim explained in this regard: "I think it is unlikely that Turkey will sell the S-400 to a third country or return it to Russia. Most likely, they can agree on such a common point as to store in Turkey without use, that is, simply put, throw it in the trash. There will be no additional batteries, and no technology—level interaction. The idle S-400 will be sent to a warehouse, such is the picture before us."
