Turkey says No Deal on S-400 for Ukraine

Paul Kolbe argues that Turkey should send its Russian S-400 air-defence system to Ukraine. He said that this step would address Ukraine’s urgent needs and repair the relationship between the US and Turkey by paving the way for the sale of US Patriot batteries to Turkey.

All US reports on Turkey's decision to buy the S400 from Russia seem to omit Turkey's first approach to the United States. However, the United States refused to sell the Patriot system. Turkey was one of the most dangerous and volatile regions in the world, and the threat it faced did not magically disappear with Washington's refusal, so Ankara had to look for an alternative. Former President Donald Trump recognized this during his tenure. Turkey has no choice but to buy patriots.

Meanwhile, Turkey designed and manufactured a Bayraktar armed drone that is now part of Ukraine's inventory, despite Western efforts to thwart the process. For example, Canada has blocked the sale of weapons to Turkey. The meaningless politicization of NATO's allies' defence cooperation has reduced Turkey's reliance on foreign governments and encouraged Turkish companies to innovate.

At this point, it is the responsibility of the West, especially the United States, to normalize relations with Turkey. Normalizing relations with Turkey has been a 70-year NATO ally and a key regional stabilization entity. The Ukrainian crisis is showing that the geopolitical assessment of those who underestimated Turkey's strategic importance, claimed that NATO was brain dead and thought that national borders were no longer controversial.