U.S. redoubles sanctions threat over S-400 as Erdogan vows retaliation
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Jun 24, 2019
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he remains opposed to Turkey's tight monetary policy and pledged a "definitive solution" to soon lower the central bank's key interest rate from 24%. He denied that Washington offered Turkey a "good" deal that would allow it to purchase U.S. Patriot systems instead. "The training of personnel has been completed".
Ties between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies have been strained over Turkey's push to buy the system with Washington concerned over the system's interoperability with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation equipment.
The Turkish head of state said he would ask Trump during their meeting at the G-20 whether he felt sanctions against Turkey were suitable.
Erdogan and Trump are due to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, at the end of June, a month before a United States deadline to Turkey to renounce its deal with Moscow for the S-400s.
Turkey has paid 1.25 billion US dollars so far for F-35s, Erdogan said, adding his country would appeal to an worldwide court for a refund in case of a "false step" by Washington.
Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in Istanbul last October 2.
Erdogan dismissed the USA argument and said Turkish military experts were good at deciding what to purchase.
He added that the US wouldn't want to lose an ally like Turkey.
"Turkey isn't an ordinary country".
"We will never let the tragedy of Morsi be forgotten, just as we did with the murder of [Saudi journalist] Jamal Khashoggi", Erdogan added. Some commentators have suggested that Turkey could bar USA jets from using the key air base of Incirlik, in southern Turkey.
Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party supported Morsi's short-lived Egyptian government, and many Brotherhood members and supporters have fled to Turkey since its activities were banned in Egypt.
