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Turkey must choose between being NATO member or buying Russian S-400s -- Pence
[ALMASDARNEWS] US Vice President Mike Pence has threatened The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor....
’s future role in the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
alliance, warning it against "reckless decisions," like pressing ahead with the purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.

Turkey must choose. Does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our @NATO alliance?,"Pence tweeted on Wednesday, after making similar remarks at a NATO summit in Washington.

Turkey has insisted on purchasing the Russian weapons system, despite repeated warnings from the US. Even after the Pentagon halted deliveries of the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet and related equipment to Turkey, Ankara remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu telling the NATO summit that the purchase was "a done deal."

Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are currently meeting head-to-head at the summit to discuss the F-35 dispute.

The Ottoman Turkish FM said that operating the two weapons systems at once "will not be a threat" to the F-35 or other NATO systems.

US politicians and military officials have consistently warned that Turkey’s deployment of the S-400 would give the Russian system opportunity to learn how to track and spot the F-35, with potentially deadly consequences for the jet in future conflicts.

Turkey is set to receive its first S-400 batteries this July. The US has thus far failed to lure its NATO ally away from the Russian system and to Raytheon’s more expensive Patriot missile system, despite offering it to Ankara at a knock-down rate earlier this year.

Turkey says US distorted meeting, but Pompeo stands by it

[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
on Thursday accused the US State Department of making false claims about rows during a meeting between the top US and Ottoman Turkish diplomats, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he stood by the account.

The NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
allies are at odds over issues including US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as bully boyz by Ankara and Turkey's purchase of a Russian missile system over US objections.

Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks on Wednesday during the Ottoman Turkish official's visit to Washington as part of 70th anniversary celebrations of the NATO alliance.

The US State Department said Pompeo had warned Ankara of "potentially devastating consequences" if Turkey launches an offensive in Syria and urged the "swift resolution" of legal cases involving US citizens and US mission employees under investigation in Turkey.

Pompeo also pressed Cavusoglu about Turkey's plans to buy the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, which Washington has warned could put Ankara at risk of US sanctions, the State Department said in a statement.

But Ottoman Turkish foreign ministry front man Hami Aksoy said on Thursday that the readout "not only fails to reflect the content of the meeting, but also contains matters that were not even raised during said meeting."

It was not clear what "matters" Aksoy was referring to in his statement and foreign ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

Aksoy said similar problems had arisen after previous talks, and urged statements to be prepared with "greater care."

Pompeo, asked by news hounds about the Ottoman Turkish comments, insisted that the State Department account was accurate.

"I've re-read the readout of our meeting. Spot on. Stand by every word of it," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said he believed that Turkey "understands the American position quite clearly" but said he was hopeful to resolve issues.

"There's great opportunities for the United States and Turkey to work closely together," he said. "I had a good, long conversation with the Ottoman Turkish foreign minister yesterday and I am very confident we'll find a path forward."

Ties have been frayed recently by Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missiles, which US officials fear have technology that will allow Moscow to gather data from NATO aircraft.

The US wants Turkey to instead opt to buy the US Patriot system.

Washington responded earlier this week by suspending Turkey's participation in the F-35 fighter-jet programme, in which Turkey has invested over $1 billion.
...and since it is only suspended, they don’t get their money back.

Posted by: Fred 2019-04-05
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=538093