Necessary move, “grace” to two “friends” to remove a deadlock or both? The way one can interpret the request that he allegedly filed for the repurchase of the two anti -aircraft defense systems is not practical, but the analysis of movement – if confirmed – will affect a series of decisions and develops.
The history of the S-400
Specifically, according to many Turkish media, the Russian side is alleged to have filed the S-400 request from Ankara because of gaps that have arisen in its anti-aircraft defense. The two sides had signed the purchase agreement of the two systems in 2017 against $ 2.5 billion and were delivered to the country in 2019, despite strong reactions from the US Foreign Ministry to the interim.
Washington’s warnings against the order were then rejected by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself, arguing that the market was necessary for Ankara as the US avoided giving Turkey Patriot systems. Finally, after their surrender, the United States has taken action against Turkey under Article 231 of the law on the treatment of US opponents through sanctions (CAATSA) by essentially throwing the country outside the F-35 fighter development program.
What has changed in Turkey
With Turkey now, the S-400s who not only bought and threw the country out of the F-35s, but never developed in the field, nor used, are rather a weight (maintenance costs, etc.) rather than a positive element for Turkey’s arsenal.
Everyone wins
For all the above reasons, but also taking into account that Russia is very often attacked by Ukrainian drones or rockets, it is not unlikely that the two sides have estimated that the situation for their repurchase is critical for both Moscow and Ankara.
Although the Russian request is not officially confirmed by any of the sides and the details of the proposal (such as the cost) have not been disclosed, Ankara’s S-400 will give it significant negotiating power against the US and put it in the US. In addition, the US has long been pushing Turkey to give the S-400.
In the days of Joe Biden, they pressured the anchor to carry the two systems it has to Ukraine, while for its part the Turkish side had implied that it was considering selling them to Pakistan or India precisely because it thought it would improve its relationship with its F-35 relationships.
