Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalın spoke with Bloomberg on Saturday. Kalın accused the US of interfering with T-129 export to Pakistan. He said that stopping Turkey from exporting will work against US interest as well.
We can resolve these issues through constructive dialogue by being open and candid. However, US policymakers need to understand how serious these issues are for us. They go to the very heart of our national security concerns. Turkey’s S-400 decision wasn’t taken overnight. We believe we can have the Patriots. We can have these S-400s that will not be integrated into the NATO defence system. We also want to buy SAMP / T air defence system produced by the French-Italian partnership. However, France decided to prevent this process by using Syria as an excuse. We continue negotiations with France to speed up this process.
The US said the S-400 air defence system poses a threat to the F-35 jet fighters, and we said, let’s look at this from a technical point of view. They refused and then said it’s not a technical issue but a political issue. OK, so what is the political issue.
There were some points of disagreement with Russia, but we were able to manage all these issues by talking through constructive dialogue; why can’t we do the same with the US? If another country comes to us with a maximalist position and demand, you know, it’s either my way or the highway; that kind of attitude pushes you in other directions.
The US has prevented the T-129 Attack helicopter exports that we were planning to make to Pakistan. In the long run, China will sell helicopters. It also means that the US will be the loser. Our relationship with the US can work in a very constructive way to mutually strengthen each other and address common issues or concerns together.
A new chapter can be opened, and a new page can be turned in our relationship with Egypt and other Gulf countries to help regional peace and stability. Egypt is an essential country in the Arab world and remains the brain of the Arab World, in the heart of the Arab world.
We are interested in talking to Egypt on maritime issues in the eastern Mediterranean and other issues in Libya, the peace process and the Palestinians. We can address a number of these issues. We can lower tensions. That kind of partnership can help regional stability from North Africa to the eastern Mediterranean.
We are trying to diversify our defence industry resources and capacity. We will continue to work on this issue with Pakistan, Qatar and some other countries.
Turkish Aerospace Industry TUSAS receives CTS800 turboshaft engine from Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company, a 50-50 partnership between US Honeywell International Inc. and British Rolls-Royce. Pakistan and Turkey have reached an agreement for the acquisition of a total of 30 helicopters. The agreement required US official approval
