Bloomberg reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Putin has proposed Russia to re-accept the S-400 air defense system - a move believed to restart relations with the US, lift sanctions and pave the way back to the F-35 stealth fighter program.
Accordingly, Mr. Putin directly raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Turkmenistan last week. This proposal follows previous closed discussions between officials of the two countries.
The Kremlin has denied the request made during the meeting, but sources said Turkey is seriously seeking to escapcate the S-400 - the most controversial symbol in Turkey-US relations for many years.
Turkey signed a $2.5 billion contract to purchase the S-400 from Russia in 2017, in the context of Washington's refusal to sell the upgraded patriot version.
The first S-400 batch was delivered in July 2019, prompting strong backlash from the US and NATO. Turkey was excluded from the F-35 program, and in December 2020, the US sanctioned the Turkish defense industry under the act of countering US opponents through sanctions (CAATSA).
By 2020, Turkey had received 4 S-400 complexes, each complex including launcher, radar, command center and many support vehicles. However, according to Bloomberg, Turkey has never activated the S-400. NATO has repeatedly warned that the operation of Russian equipment in parallel with Western aircraft could leak sensitive data to Moscow - a direct concern that could lead to the decision to "close" the F-35 to Turkey.
Notably, Ankara not only wants to return the S-400 but also seeks to recover the money. One option being considered is to deduct system value from Turkey's oil and gas payments to Russia. However, this is a new proposal and will require complicated negotiation rounds, especially in the context of Russia under great pressure from the West.
The move comes as Turkey continues to maintain its East-West balance amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict: Maintaining relations with both Moscow and Kiev, supplying weapons to Ukraine, but not imposing sanctions on Russia and closing the Strait to warships of both sides under the Montreux Convention.
Turkey is also NATO's second largest military power in terms of its military size, causing all strategic adjustments to have a spillover effect.
According to Bloomberg, US pressure on the S-400 is increasing. This issue was raised during a meeting between Mr. Putin and US President Donald Trump at the White House in September.
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, a close ally of Trump, said Turkey was closer to the abandonment of the S-400, and the dispute could be resolved in 4-6 months.
Turkish diplomatic sources believe that giving up the S-400 could pave the way for sanctions to be lifted for the defense sector, even returning to the F-35 program. Each advanced version of the F-35 costs over $100 million, but for Ankara, the geopolitical and technological value of re-entering the club is assessed to be greater than the amount spent on the S-400.
