Responding to speculations that S-400 missile defense systems would be sold to a third country, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday that “multilateral work” was underway and the public would be informed “once concrete steps are taken.”
This month’s NATO summit and U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to sell F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye led to rumors that Ankara may give up the missile system it acquired from Russia in 2019. The acquisition led the U.S. to speed up the sanctions process against the country it is allied with in NATO. On the sidelines of the NATO summit, Trump has also signaled an end to Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions against Türkiye. Turkish media outlets have claimed that the Russian system would be sold to either Qatar or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), two countries that have faced the risk of spillover of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran since February.
Speaking alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex after arriving in Ankara for the NATO leaders summit, Trump said the time had come to remove sanctions that have strained relations between the two NATO allies.
“We’re going to lift the sanctions,” Trump said. “We don’t want to sanction our friends. I don’t want to choke my friend with sanctions.”
Calling Türkiye a militarily powerful country under Erdoğan’s leadership, Trump remarked that relations between Washington and Ankara were at their strongest point in years.
“I have great respect for President Erdoğan,” he said. “This is truly in the interest of both countries. I can say that our relationship with Türkiye is better now than it has ever been.”
The ministry also commented on the European Parliament’s recent approval of a controversial report regarding Cyprus. The report claimed Turkish troops who were deployed to the island for the 1974 Peace Operation to save Turkish Cypriots from massacres by Greek Cypriot gangs were involved in sex crimes against Greek Cypriots. The ministry said the allegations in the report were baseless and heinous.
In a statement, the ministry said the report also chose to ignore massacres of Turkish Cypriots in the divided island, and this alone was the indicator of a biased approach of the European Parliament, which based its report on Greek Cypriot propaganda.
The ministry noted that Türkiye ended attacks on the existence of Turkish Cypriots through its peace operation, which was based on Türkiye’s legitimate rights and authority cemented in international agreements.
“The Turkish military presence on the island has safeguarded peace, security and stability on the island for more than half a century. The Republic of Türkiye, as a guarantor state, will continue protecting the Turkish Cypriot people’s rights, interests and security. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are determined to respond to any hostile acts targeting the security of Turkish Cypriot people,” the statement said.
