Director of Communications Altun: "What the West must do is deliver the F-35 fighter jets and Patriot batteries to Türkiye without preconditions."
“This idea is quite unrealistic,” Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun responded to the American Newspaper Wall Street Journal article that suggested Türkiye send the S-400 air defence system to Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal released Director of Communications Altun's evaluations in response to the article in question.
In the article published in The Wall Street Journal on March 18, it was stated, “The step that Türkiye would take by sending the S-400 air defence system to Ukraine would address Ukraine’s urgent need and repair the relationship between the U.S. and Türkiye by paving the way for the sale of U.S. Patriot batteries to Türkiye and its reinstatement in the F-35 program.”
In his evaluation of this article, Director of Communications Altun noted that though the idea in question is quite unrealistic, it presents an opportunity to discuss the problems that Türkiye has experienced with the West in recent years.
Director of Communications Altun underlined that all U.S. accounts of Türkiye’s decision to purchase the S-400 from Russia appear to omit that, “Türkiye approached the U.S. first. The U.S., however, refused to sell the Patriot system.”
“It pushed Turkish companies to innovate”
Pointing out that Türkiye was in one of the most dangerous and unstable regions of the world, Director of Communications Altun made the following comments:
“The threats that Türkiye faced did not magically disappear with Washington’s rejection. Ankara had to look into alternative systems. Former President Donald Trump recognised that while in office. As such, Türkiye did not have a choice to buy the Patriot at the time. Furthermore, Turks still remember how our allies withdrew Patriot batteries from Türkiye during some of the tensest periods in Turkish-Russian relations. In light of experience, the Turkish people no longer take seriously any “informal pledge” by the West to supply the Patriot. Türkiye’s unlawful “removal” from the F-35 program over political considerations makes it hard to take seriously the metaphorical carrot of Türkiye’s “reinstatement.”
Stating that meanwhile, Türkiye designed and manufactured the Bayraktar armed drone, now part of Ukraine’s inventory, despite Western efforts to hinder that process, Altun said, “For example, Canada blocked arms sales to Türkiye. The senseless politicisation of defence cooperation among NATO allies reduced Türkiye’s dependence on foreign governments and pushed Turkish companies to innovate.”
“Türkiye expects to be treated by the West as it deserves”
Director of Communications Altun emphasised that it was the responsibility of the West and especially the U.S. to normalise relations with Türkiye—a NATO ally of 70 years and a stabilising actor in many critical regions.
Stating that the Ukraine crisis has shown that the geopolitical assessments of those who underestimated Türkiye’s strategic importance, claimed that NATO was “brain dead” and thought that national borders were no longer subject to discussion were misguided. Altun said:
“Türkiye, which views European Union membership as a strategic objective and takes pride in its NATO membership, expects to be treated by the West as it deserves. It would take confidence-building measures, not so-called informal proposals, to repair the relationship. To build on the aforementioned argument, what the West must do is deliver the F-35 fighter jets and Patriot batteries to Türkiye without preconditions.”