NATO threatens Turkey to purchase S-400 missile system from Russia

“The sovereignty vision exists in the purchase of protective equipment, but in the same way that states are sovereign in making their decision, but they also have sovereignty in coping with the consequences of that decision”, said General Petr Pavel, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, on October 25th during a meeting in Washington with a group of journalists organised by the Defence Writers Group.

Pavel said Russian missiles cannot be integrated with NATO systems.

Ankara's decision to buy the Russian missile system is seen in several Western capitals as an obstacle to the alliance, providing tensions with Moscow over Ukraine and Syria, while the agreement raised concerns because weapons cannot be integrated into NATO defence.

“There has been no request from Turkey to integrate S-400 into a NATO defence system”, Stoltenberg said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed NATO countries in failing to propose a reliable alternative to long-range Russian missiles, but Stoltenberg said Erdogan was talking to Paris and Rome about similar systems -- a move the Alliance's chief welcomed, reports “Hurriyet Daily Nes”, Periskopi broadcasts.

“He told me Turkey is in dialogue with France and Italy for the possible distribution of S-400” air defence systems, Stoltenberg said.

Turkey has said it has made a preliminary payment for the S-400 system and hopes to see them as part of it in 2019, but documents have not yet been finalised.

It is the right “among the allies to have that discussion, to raise all potential concerns and difficulties”, Pavel said./Periscopi/