US tries to shake Turkey down on Patriot missile deal

Turkey Will Not Receive Patriot System unless it Returns S-400 to Russia – Pentagon

By Jim W. Dean, Managing Editor -March 10, 2020

Turkey Will Not Receive Patriot System unless it Returns S-400 to Russia – Pentagon

…from Sputnik News, Moscow

[ Editor’s Note: Well it looks like Erodgan’s testing out the US, trying to shake it down for some freebie Patriots did not go too well. If I remember correctly, Putin offered the S-400s on credit, which he loved at the time.

Trading them for Patriots would lower Turkey’s air defenses so he will not do that. Erdo was fishing around to show his people in tough economic times that he is a “Bibi wannabe”, in that can get anything out of Trump that he wants, playing him off against Putin.

And Moscow has to worry about ever being paid for the S-400s as Turkey is broke, and part of that due to massive looting by his political clan. Turkey cannot financially support the level of aggression it is on now without finding someone to pay the tab … Jim W. Dean ]

Erdogan and Putin are in a standoff now

– First published … March 10, 2020 –

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States continues to condition the supply of the Patriot air defense systems to Turkey on returning the already purchased S-400 systems back to Russia, US Defense Department spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a briefing on Tuesday.

“Turkey is not going to receive a Patriot battery unless it returns the S-400,” Hoffman told reporters.

Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States has softened its stance on Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence systems and reduced its demands to asking Ankara not to put the weapon on active service.

Russia began delivering the S-400 to Turkey in July 2019. The United States has demanded that Turkey cancel all purchases of the S-400, saying it expects Ankara to purchase US-made Patriot air defence systems instead. The United States also threatened to delay or cancel any deliveries of the fifth-generation F-35 jets to Turkey.

However, Turkey has refused to make any concessions regarding the S-400 purchase. Erdogan said last week that the S-400 would enter service in Turkey in April.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

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