Turkish defence minister dials US counterpart, discusses future security cooperation

Turkey’s Minister of Defence, Hulusi Akar, on Friday, held a telephonic conversation with his American counterpart Llyod Austin wherein he discussed future security cooperation between the two countries. During the brief discussion, both the leaders also talked about regional issues including their shared threat of terrorism. It is imperative to note that Ankara is fighting a proxy war for influence in the Middle East with Iran, a top American adversary. A readout of the conversation released by the US defence department said that Austin asserted “great value” that the US places on its defence ties with Turkey. During the conversation, he also highlighted the Turko-American cooperation in the Afghanistan crisis. Ankara played a pivotal role in evacuating foreign troops from the conflict-hit country and even touting to secure the Kabul International Airport in the aftermath.

Turkey to bolster bilateral ties with Kabul

Meanwhile, Turkey recently promised to develop bilateral ties with Kabul. During their official meeting, Turkish Ambassador Cihad Erginay and Taliban leader Abdul Salam Hanafi talked about the strong bonds between Turkish and Afghan people and reaffirmed their commitments to strengthen their relations further. The Turkish Embassy took to Twitter and wrote, "Ambassador @cerginay and Acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi in their meeting emphasized the strong bonds between Turkish and Afghan peoples and reaffirmed their commitments to further bolster the relations between our brotherly nations."

Turkey to buy Russian missiles

Amid strong opposition from the United States, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he will still consider buying a second Russian missile system. In an interview, Erdogan said that Turkey would decide its defence systems on it own, thereby defying the opposition by the United States. In the TV interview, Erdogan remarked that Turkey was not given the option to buy American-made Patriot missiles. 

In addition, he also claimed that the United States failed to deliver the F-35 stealth jets despite payment of USD 1.4 billion. Turkey, which is a NATO member, was earlier kicked out of the F-35 program, and its defence officials were sanctioned after it bought the Russian-made S-400 missile defence system. The United States strongly contests the use of Russian defence systems within NATO; it states that the missile system poses a threat to the F-35s. However, Turkey has maintained its position and said that the S-400s could be used independently without integrating into NATO systems. 

Image: AP