- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
TEHRAN, Apr 06 -Turkey has been moving away from America’s sphere of influence and improving its relationship with Russia, which was underscored by Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system despite US threats, says a political analyst in Virginia.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - “There’s been tensions between the United States and Turkey in recent years over a number of issues pertaining to US policy in the Middle East,” said Keith Preston, chief editor of AttacktheSystem.com.
“American foreign policy has become increasingly hostile towards Russia in the last few years and the Turks do appear to view that as not being in their interest, in part because of their relatively close geographical proximity to Russia,” Preston told Press TV on Thursday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday vowed to go ahead with a deal to purchase Russian missiles despite Washington's suspension of Turkey's participation in a US jet program.
The US said on Monday it was halting all deliveries and joint work with Turkey on the F-35 fighter jet program if Ankara insisted on the deal.
Washington has suggested Turkey could opt for the US-produced Patriot missiles instead.
But Erdogan said although Ankara was keen to buy the US-produced missiles, "America was unfortunately not giving Patriots to us on the same terms" as Russia.
The row over the F-35 and the S-400 is the latest in a series of diplomatic disputes between Ankara and Washington.
Tensions have been escalating between the two NATO allies over issues including US support for Kurdish groups in Syria that Ankara says are responsible for terror attacks inside Turkey.
Washington and its NATO allies have strived to prevent the sophisticated Russian-built anti-aircraft weapon system from collecting information about the US-made all-weather stealth multirole warplanes, technically known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, just as they are gaining a foothold in Europe.
Erdogan has also slammed American officials for rejecting his requests to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US, whom Ankara accuses of having masterminded a coup attempt in July 2016.
Source: Press TV
Your Comment