Turkey’s foreign minister says the United States has yet to respond to a proposal to set up a technical committee to review possible security threats that Russia’s S-400 missile defense system could pose to the US F-35 fighter jet program.
Turkey’s decision to purchase the advanced Russian system has deepened a rift between the NATO allies. US officials have warned of consequences if the purchase is finalized, while Turkish officials say the deal cannot be cancelled.
Speaking at a news conference with his Polish and Romanian counterparts Friday, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Turkey is taking utmost care to ensure that the S-400 system is under full Turkish control.
“We are taking into account NATO’s concerns. It is not right to say Turkey is not considering them,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters.
He added that Turkey does not believe the S-400s would threaten the F-35 program, of which Turkey is also a partner.