US is concerned about Turkey going ahead with its plans to operate Russian S-400 system

State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagos said that the United States is very concerned about reports that Ankara is advancing its efforts to operate the Russian S-400 missile system.

 "We continue to affirm at the highest levels that the S-400 deal is the subject of current deliberations under the Anti-Enemy America Act through sanctions, and it remains a major obstacle in bilateral relations and in NATO, we are confident that President Erdogan and his senior officials understand our position. "

But a senior Turkish official said on Monday that Turkey's plans to operate its new Russian-made missile defense systems were postponed due Coronavirus outbreak.

It seemed that the tension between Turkey and the United States, members of NATO, will reach the point of crisis, due to the S-400 air defense systems in April, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government announced their intention to activate these systems.

But the Coronavirus outbreak has made Turkish efforts focus on fighting the pandemic and fortifying the economy, which just emerged from a recession last year. Over the past weeks, Erdogan and his government have not publicly raised the issue of the S-400.

The Turkish official told "Reuters" that his country does not intend to back down from its decision in this regard, which was a reason that threatened the United States to impose sanctions on it.

"There is no going back from the decision to operate the S-400 (but) because of Covid-19 ... the processing plan that was scheduled for April will be delayed," said the official, who did not want be named.

For his part, Senior Adviser to the US State Department Richard Otten said in an online seminar a few days ago that the deployment of the S-400 systems in the same airspace of the American planes would be a "big problem" that could spark a new crisis between the two countries.

Otten that the issue "is not a modern issue now due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but the thinking in Washington before the disease dominates the debate is that the Turks will most likely operate this S-400 system in April and that Congress will move to impose sanctions ... I don't think that None of that has vanished. "

T/S

ANHA