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| Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over NATO ally Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system. (AFP) |
International Military - It is known that the United States asked its NATO allies to help Ukraine to counter Russian military aggression. And this request was also submitted to Turkey, Ankara was asked to transfer the S-400 anti-air weapon system to Kyiv.
This is certainly an advantage for Turkey, considering that they received CAATSA sanctions because they were "found" in buying Russian-made weapons, namely the S-400 itself in 2019.
Due to the punishment, Ankara was expelled from the US Lockheed Martin F-35 fifth generation fighter jet procurement program. “It is a system made by Russia, and the US will sanction Turkey as a member of NATO. And this time, we see an opportunity to “make up” with Ankara and”.
Why the US does not agree with its NATO allies buying Russian products, the reason is because it is feared that it will become a threat to its F-35. If Turkey takes this opportunity, Ukraine will get the S-400 which is considered the best anti-air system, even this claim is also recognized by the US.
And for Turkey, they will benefit from the lifting of CAATSA sanctions. Although it may not be able to directly order the F-35 in the near future. However, Ankara was able to procure 40 Block 70 F-16s and 80 modernization kits that they requested from last October.
This will make Turkey's F-16 fleet more robust and relevant for the next decade. Additionally, the US could offer its Patriot PAC-3 anti-air missiles if Ankara gets rid of its S-400s. Keep in mind that the S-400 has not been operational since the Turkish purchase in 2019. There are 2 conditions if Turkey sends its weapons, namely:
Turkey angers Russia
Sending Russian-made S-400 missiles to Ukraine is believed to be a significant help in Kyiv's military power, and this has not gone unnoticed by Moscow. It all started with the sale of Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 attack drone. According to reports this drone was successful in helping Ukraine during Putin's military aggression.
Ukraine used it for the first time during a battle to destroy artillery guns in the Donbas region at the end of last October. And Russia protested this, although Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made a statement that when the country bought Turkish drones, "it no longer belongs to you".
Thus, Turkey cannot be blamed or held responsible for the products they sell. This was replied by Aleksei Erkhov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey in mid-2020, namely for Ankara's ownership of the S-400. “We sold the system they wanted to buy. The owner of this system is Turkey," he said on the Forbes website.
"We can sell cars, you can go to the beach with food or machine guns and go to war with them," added the foreign minister.
A logical choice for Turkey
Perhaps there is a way in which Turkey can mend its name in the western political catastrophe and deliver the S-400 to Ukraine without angering Russia. According to Forbes, instead of sending them directly to Ukraine, Turkey could sell them to the US or other NATO allies.
This is to avoid conflict with Russia who protested "they buy, automatically become theirs". Over the incident of the Bayraktar TB2 Ukrainian drone which during the conflict greatly troubled the Moscow troops.
By using this method, Turkey is indirectly arming Ukraine with this sophisticated anti-air system. Although this is difficult to happen, it cannot be ruled out considering the many "reckless" policies that have been decided by the head of state since February 24.