Washington’s opposition to the stay of the Russian S-400 system in Turkey is once again expressed by the State Department. Responding to a question from ERT and the Hellas Journal, a US State Department spokesman appeared to reject the proposal by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who had argued that Ankara would be willing to adopt the “Greek S-300 model” as a a compromise solution that would allow the problem created by the possession of the S-400s to be overcome. It is recalled that the S-300s had been purchased by the Republic of Cyprus and eventually ended up in Crete due to the reaction provoked by Turkey itself.
In his statement, the State Department spokesman clarified that the CAATSA law came into force on August 2, 2017 and therefore covers all important transactions with the Russian defense industry since then. In this light, it becomes clear that the S-300s do not fall within the framework of CAATSA, as they were transported to Crete before the enactment of American law.
As the State Department spokesman explained, “Turkey is the only NATO country that has been involved in a significant new supply of Russian weapons systems since the establishment of CAATSA. Several other NATO allies manage old-fashioned military equipment of Russian or Soviet origin acquired years or decades before CAATSA was established. These NATO allies are all committed to working to address existing dependencies on such equipment, and most are well on their way. “We continue to urge Turkey at every level and opportunity not to maintain the S-400 system and to refrain from purchasing additional Russian military equipment.”
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