Turkey Promises Tit-for-tat if U.S. Punishes It for Missiles

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says that if Washington declares sanctions against Turkey for its purchase of Russian-made S-400 air-defense missile systems, Ankara will turn around and do something similar. “If the United States takes any negative actions toward us, we will also take reciprocal steps,” Cavusoglu told a Turkish television interviewer. “We are determined on the S-400 issue. No matter what the results will be, we will not take a step back.” Like the U.S., Turkey is a member of NATO, and NATO-member nations must use compatible military systems. The S-400 is not compatible with other NATO air defenses. What’s more, the deal has the U.S. worried about its F-35 stealth fighter. Turkey has had them on order, and defense experts say that if the country possesses both the S-400 and the F-35, the Russians might find a way to program the former in a way that would allow it to track the latter. Adding to the tensions between Washington and Ankara was a recent U.S. decision to curtail training for Turkish pilots who were chosen to fly the F-35.