Trump authorises the sale of advanced missiles worth 304 million dollars to Turkey

The United States has given the green light to the sale of missiles to Turkey for 304 million dollars, in a context where NATO is seeking to strengthen its trade and defence relations, according to Bloomberg magazine. 

The agreement, which still has to be approved by the US Congress, coincided with the official visit of Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, in Turkey, where he will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers' Summit in the city of Antalya. Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian delegations will be in Istanbul, without their respective presidents, for a meeting at which new ceasefire agreements may be reached. 

Previously, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency made public Turkey's requests: 53 air-to-air missiles (AAM), worth $225 million; and 60 Block II missiles worth 79 million. In both cases, the company responsible for the sale of this material will be RTX Corporation, one of the ten most important companies in the US arms industry. 

But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's requests go further. According to Bloomberg magazine, the president's interest in including the F-35s in the purchase agreements would mean that the United States would lift its ban on Ankara's acquisition of the fifth-generation fighter jet, which was imposed after the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system. 

This ban is part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which led to the Turkish Armed Forces being excluded from the F-35 fighter jet development programme. This is why Ankara is reportedly considering abandoning the Russian S-400 project in an attempt to convince the Trump administration that lifting the ban is an appropriate measure. 

If all the conditions are met, the entry of state-of-the-art weaponry into the Turkish Armed Forces could deal a major blow to Russia, as it would lose influence over one of the most powerful countries due to its geographical position. 

Along these lines, Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler stressed that Ankara cannot discuss coordination on the withdrawal from Syria ‘until a new constitution is established, elections are held and borders are defined’. 

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defence plans to reduce the number of US troops in Syria to less than 1,000, while Ankara is offering thousands of Turkish troops already on the border to help stabilise its war-torn neighbour.