The US has offered no indication that it is ready to accept possession of the Russian anti-aircraft missile system S-400 from Turkey, underlines the State Department spokesman, Ned Price. The US official was asked whether there was a time when the Biden administration considered accepting the transfer of the S-400 missiles to the NATO base in Incirlik as a temporary solution.
«I couldn't talk about what the previous government might have done. And I wouldn't want to talk about any private diplomatic discussions, but let me just say that we have never offered any indication that we are willing to accept Turkey's possession of the S-400 system. I will repeat that this is not compatible with Turkey's status as a NATO ally.», the State Department spokesman stressed.
It is worth noting that the State Department appears to be closing the door to all scenarios that the US is ready to accept the S-400's stay in Turkey through a compromise solution of a technical nature. To all relevant questions, US officials continue to call on Ankara to give up the S-400, stressing that Washington's policy on this issue has not changed. During the standard State Department press briefing, Mr. Price appeared to be on the same page.
«The Russian S-400s - and let's be very clear about this - are not compatible with NATO equipment.. They threaten the security of NATO technology. They are not consistent with Turkey's NATO alliance commitments. We have urged Turkey and continue to urge Turkey not to maintain this system. In fact, Turkey's possession of this system triggered sanctions under the CAATSA law. At the same time, Turkey is a long-standing and valuable ally of NATO. And that is why it is particularly important for us that Turkey recognizes the incompatibility of the S-400 system with its status as a NATO ally.’.
Mr. Price went on to explain that the specific positions have been conveyed by the Foreign Minister, Anthony Blinken Turkish officials with whom he is in talks, while he estimated that the President Biden will do the same at the forthcoming meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As he said, «this is the message that Minister Blinken sent (to Turkish officials). President Biden will of course have the opportunity to see his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the coming days. I would not want to preview that conversation, but our opposition to the S-400 system and our deep belief that it is incompatible with Turkey's status as a NATO ally is something we have repeatedly made clear to the Turks.».
