Washington DC, July 17: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to condemn Turkey’s purchase deal of Russia-made S-400 air defence missile systems, strongly opposed by its NATO allies and the Pentagon, and blamed his predecessor, ex-President Barack Obama for Ankara’s move.
Trump said he understood why Turkey choose Russian air missiles to buy, after the first arrival of S-400 missile systems in Ankara on last Friday. “I’ve had a good relationship with President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan,” Trump told journalists.
“It’s a very tough situation that they’re in and it’s a very tough situation that we’ve been placed in … With all of that being said, we’re working through it – we’ll see what happens,” he said, as per Reuters news reports.
The US president described it a “complex situation”, noting Turkey had been removed from the NATO F-35 fighter jet programme, as well as, restricted from purchasing planned-for 100 F-35s, by Pentagon.
Referring to the F-35 manufacturer, Trump said, Because they have a system of missiles that are made in Russia, they’re now prohibited from buying over 100 planes. I would say that Lockheed isn’t exactly happy. That’s a lot of jobs.”
A meeting has been held between Trump and Erdogan on the sidelines of the summit held in Osaka, Japan, following which the Turkish leader claimed the US president assured him during talks that he would not attempt to impose any sanction on Ankara. Moreover, the US administration has not confirmed assurance yet.