If Turkey fails to pull out of its agreement with Russia and does not purchase the US-made Patriot missile defence system by the end of the first week of June, it will face negative consequences, NBC News reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The consequences include removing Turkey from the F-35 jet program, forfeiting 100 promised F-35 jets originally designated for the country, and imposing sanctions on Turkey — all of which could hurt Ankara’s standing with NATO, the report said.
In December 2017, Moscow and Ankara signed a loan agreement for the delivery of S-400 air defence systems to Turkey.
The United States and NATO have criticized Turkey’s cooperation with Russia on S-400 deliveries, citing security concerns and incompatibility between Russian and NATO air defence systems.
The United States threatened Turkey with sanctions for its planned acquisition of S-400s and repeatedly threatened to delay or cancel the sales of the F-35 aircraft to Ankara. Turkey is one of seven states to participate in the F-35 program.
Turkey has said that the purchase of defensive weapons is its sovereign affair, and has ruled out the possibility of abandoning plans to complete the purchase.
Russia and Turkey signed a $2.5 billion loan agreement for the shipment of a total of four batteries of S-400 systems in December 2017. The first delivery is set for July 2019 and will proceed as scheduled, according to Turkish officials.
More about: Turkey
