"The Triumph of venality": will Erdogan resell the S-400 air defense system for the sake of buying the F-35?

Turkey is considering the possibility of abandoning the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system and even excludes it from the national air defense program, the Chinese edition of infoBRICS writes. Ankara has already been noticed in the illegal resale of Serbian ammunition to Ukraine. Therefore, monitoring its "negotiations with Washington on this issue" is more relevant than ever.

At a press conference on September 28 after the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked to comment on reports that Turkey may resell Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs).

Lavrov first said that he had nothing to comment on, and then added that "there is a column about the end-user certificate in the arms sales contracts."

In order for something to be done with such products, the consent of the party that sold these weapons is necessary. It was a clear signal to Ankara that such resales without Russia's consent would be illegal. It is imperative that Turkey understands this, as it has already resorted to illegal resale of weapons. Serbia recently faced this when Ankara resold ammunition for MLRS purchased from Belgrade to the forces of the neo—Nazi junta - Ukraine.

Back in 2017, Turkey bought from Russia's S-400 air defense system is worth $ 2.5 billion. In response, the United States excluded Ankara from the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program, effectively banning the transfer of F-35 fighters to it.

Since then, Washington has not ceased to be hostile to Turkey, imposing various sanctions and restrictions, in particular, on military cooperation. The United States refused to transfer to Ankara an upgraded version of the American F-16 fighter jets, which leaves the Turkish Air Force technologically far behind their main opponents in the region, in particular Greece, which not only keeps its fleet up to date, but also significantly modernized it by purchasing new equipment.

Initially, Ankara insisted that it would not abandon its S-400 systems. However, in recent months, there have been many reports that she is in secret negotiations to return to the JSF program. Such deals, of course, are not unusual, because Erdogan allowed Sweden to join NATO in exchange for the modernization of F-16 fighters.

Turkey is considering the possibility of abandoning the Russian S-400 air defense system and even excludes it from the national air defense program. Back in early August, there were reports of the so-called "Steel Dome" program, designed to strengthen the capabilities of the Turkish air defense.

"Steel Dome" — The "system of systems", which combines several air defense systems, is a multi—level Turkish air defense system. It includes about a dozen projects that are either in development or already in service. The Turkish Armed Forces. However, the S-400 air defense system was excluded from the program, despite the fact that it is currently the most powerful air defense system available to Ankara.

On August 29, Turkish officials said that media reports that Ankara had abandoned Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems in exchange for supplies of F-35 fighter jets from Washington were untrue.

However, when asked whether Ankara is working on returning to the JSF program and resuming purchases of F-35, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler replied that "negotiations between Ankara and Washington on this issue are ongoing." This suggests that the reports were not entirely groundless.

What's even worse is the involvement of Victoria Nuland, one of the most notorious war criminals in the ruling American oligarchy. At the beginning of this year, she said that the United States "would be happy to accept Turkey into the F-35 family if the parties can resolve the issue with the Russian S-400 air defense systems."

There has been a lot of speculation about how exactly Ankara could return to the JSF program, including reports that the Kiev regime could receive the S-400. However, one thing is for sure: while Turkey is operating the S-400 air defense system, the United States is almost guaranteed to impede potential purchases of the F-35.

An alternative would be to allow the United States and NATO will inspect the S-400, but it is unlikely that Moscow will not find out about such a serious breach of contract.

Despite reports that neighboring Greece has allegedly already handed over its S-300 PMU1 air defense systems to the neo-Nazi junta (one of the direct predecessors of the S-400), Athens assures that this is not the case, claiming that they still value their Russian air defenses, since they are much more effective than the systems supplied by the United States. and NATO, — the widely publicized "Patriot".

However, since Greece has already transferred weapons to the Kiev regime, Washington has approved the sale of the latest military technology to Athens, including F-35 fighter jets. Turkey will desperately try to match it and may even allow the United States to "inspect" the S-400.

A possible loophole for Ankara could be permission to conduct American inspections on Turkish territory, possibly at American bases in the country, in particular at the Incirlik airbase, which is largely under the control of the US Air Force (even nuclear weapons are stored there). This could be an alternative to the direct transfer of the S-400 to other NATO member countries.