President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday Turkey would not withdraw from a deal made with Russia to buy an S400 missile defence system despite pressure from the United States.

"We have made an agreement (with Russia). We are determined. There is nothing like backtracking from that," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Ankara's desire to buy the Russian S400 system has been a major source of contention between NATO allies Turkey and the United States, which has threatened sanctions.

Last week, a top Pentagon official said the consequences would be "devastating" for Turkey's joint F-35 fighter programme and its cooperation with NATO if the country goes ahead with plans to buy the Russian missile defence system.

Kathryn Wheelbarger, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, said Ankara's planned purchase of the S-400 would damage Turkey's ability to work with the Western alliance, and force Washington to hit the country with sanctions.

She said that the US administration, even if it does not want to punish Turkey for the purchase, could be forced to do so by a Congress unsympathetic to Ankara.

Turkey has defied the mounting pressure and said the purchase was a "done deal."

Erdogan on Wednesday spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone and, according to the Turkish leader's office, they discussed Ankara's previous offer to form a "joint working group" on the missile system.

Related Links
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Britain's Royal Air Force tests miniature missile decoys on Typhoon jets
Washington DC (UPI) May 30, 2019
Britain's Royal Air Force has been testing a miniature missile decoy device on its Typhoon fighter jets, Defense Minister Stuart Andrew announced. The BriteCloud, which is roughly the size of a soda can, is designed to protect combat jets from the latest radar-guided missiles. They utilize powerful radar emissions to disrupt the targeting system within air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, drawing them to a safe distance from the targets. Upon completion of successful trials, the devices w ... read more