The Trump White House is moving to clear the hurdles to a multi-billion dollar arms deal to sell the U.S.-made Patriot anti-missile system to Turkey, even as the NATO ally was contemplating a deal to buy the rival S-400 system from Russia, U.S. defense officials announced Wednesday.
The $3.5 billion deal covers the sale of 80 Patriot MIM-104E guided missiles and 60 PAC-3 missiles, said officials from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Pentagon directorate that brokers foreign weapon sales with U.S. allies.
Terms of the weapons sale were reportedly reached during a telephone conversation between Mr. Trump and Turkish President Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week. It’s not clear if Turkey will not cancel the Russian contract, with two Turkish government officials telling reporters in Ankara that at least part of the Russian purchase could still go ahead.
U.S. and NATO officials have worried that allowing Russia to install the S-400 system in Turkey could give the Kremlin an inside look at sensitive Western technology and NATO practices.
The announcement of the Patriot and PAC-3 missile deal coincides with Mr. Trump’s surprise decision to order all 2,000 American troops in Syria out of the country. The majority of those American forces served as military advisers to the Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF — the group of Arab and Kurdish militias who played an integral role in driving the Islamic State from its Syrian capital of Raqqa last year.
Consternation over Turkey’s proposed Russian weapons buy, along with Washington’s continued backing of Syrian Kurdish paramilitaries Ankara condemns as terrorists, has badly strained U.S.-Turkish relations in recent months.
Turkey was reportedly motivated to strike the S-400 deal with Russia in part by its frustration over Washington’s backing of Kurdish militant groups battling the Islamic State in Syria.
Days before the announcement of the Patriot missile deal and the U.S. pullout from Syria, Mr. Erdogan vowed to carry out a new Turkish offensive against American-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria. “We will crush the terrorist network,” he said during a speech Sunday, before speaking with Mr. Trump.
Pentagon officials drew no connections between the American withdrawal and Turkey’s decision to pursue the Patriot missiles over the S-400s.
“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a key NATO ally on the front lines of the fight against terrorism,” U.S. defense officials said in a statement to Congress, notifying lawmakers of the new deal, issued Monday.
The new Patriots and PAC-3 missiles “will increase the defensive capabilities of the Turkey military to guard against hostile aggression and shield NATO allies who might train and operate within Turkey’s borders,” they added.
The popularity of the Russian S-400 anti-missile system, which has been given a real-world test in the Syrian civil war, has proved a potent diplomatic and security calling card for the Kremlin, with a number of key U.S. allies — including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and India — exploring the possibility of purchasing the system.
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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