How Ankara’s anti-West attitude plays into Western hands
The Erdogan government is more determined than ever to purchase the S-400 missile systems from Russia, further eroding Turkey's standing as a Western ally.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Moscow on his first trip abroad after the March 31 elections and, on the flight back home, told journalists traveling with him that the delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense systems to Turkey could occur sooner than July, as scheduled.
No crisis between Turkey and the Western alliance has been as predictable as the one over the S-400s. It’s because US sanctions mechanisms against countries that purchase significant weaponry from Russia cannot be stopped; once Turkey receives the strategic S-400 air defense systems, the sanctions will be activated.
