Turkey needs to “get rid of” the Russian S-400 missile defense system it purchased, a senior State Department official said on Thursday, to overcome a standoff with Washington, which says the procurement poses a threat to NATO defense capabilities, Reuters reports.
Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 system, which Washington says is not compatible with NATO defenses and poses a threat to its F-35 stealth fighter jets.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosted his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at the White House last week for a meeting, which Trump described as “wonderful.” However, it was not clear if the two NATO allies made any breakthrough on the S-400 impasse.
“There is room for Turkey to come back to the table. They know that to make this work they need to either destroy or return or somehow get rid of the S-400,” the official told reporters at a briefing.
