Moscow denied on Thursday reports that Turkey was planning to return S-400 anti-aircraft systems to Russia under pressure from the US government, which had made Ankara’s return to the F-35 programme conditional on the withdrawal of the weaponry acquired by Türkiye from Russia years ago.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by agencies such as Anatolia, denied that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had discussed this possibility with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their recent meeting in the Turkmen capital. “That issue was not on the agenda,” Peskov stressed at a media appearance in Moscow, referring to the recent meeting in Ashgabat held as part of the International Forum on Peace and Confidence.
Asked about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Peskov noted that Russia is preparing new contacts with its US counterparts following Washington‘s diplomatic work with Kiev and Brussels. “We are indeed preparing for certain contacts with our American counterparts to obtain information about the results of the work done by Americans with Europeans and Ukrainians,” he said.
Kremlin: “Venezuela is our ally”
Peskov also spoke during his appearance about Venezuela amid the US military naval blockade situation and rising tensions in the region, stressing that Caracas is an ally and partner of Moscow. “Venezuela is our ally, our partner; we maintain constant contacts, including contacts at the highest level,” said the Kremlin spokesman, who also recalled that Putin and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro recently held a telephone conversation.
Referring to what he called an “escalation of tensions in the (Latin American) region”, Peskov described it as “potentially very dangerous“, after Donald Trump warned that the United States could soon launch attacks on Venezuelan territory as part of what the US president described as Washington’s fight against drug trafficking.
In 2017, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia to purchase four S-400 missile defence systems worth approximately $2.5 billion. When the US demanded that Ankara reverse the deal with Moscow and opt for the more expensive US Patriot missiles, Ankara refused, prompting then-President Joe Biden‘s administration to retaliate by expelling Türkiye from the F-35 fighter programme. According to reports published yesterday by Bloomberg, Ankara reportedly asked the Kremlin to return the S-400s to improve relations with the US, but neither Turkey nor Russia have confirmed this.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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