Congress to Erdogan: Stay away from military ties to Russia

Senior Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives again today called on Turkey to cancel its planned acquisition of a Russian S-400 missile defense system, the latest effort by U.S. lawmakers to discourage Ankara from pursuing the deal.

They introduced a resolution urging Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to avoid a military relationship with Russia that could jeopardize the U.S.-Turkey partnership and Turkey's role in NATO.

"Cozying up to Vladimir Putin is unacceptable," Democratic Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

U.S. officials have urged Turkey to cancel its purchase of the S-400 system or risk its position as both a prospective buyer and partner in production of the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet. They say Turkey's plan to buy the S-400 would compromise the security of the jets and want Ankara to buy a U.S. missile defense system instead.

Members of Congress have tried a variety of approaches to convince Turkey to cancel the sale, including introducing legislation that would bar the federal government from spending any money to deliver any F-35 jets to Turkey.

No S-400s delivery postponement, no working group

At the same time, Ankara ruled out the prospect of delaying a scheduled July delivery of the S-400s, demanding a working group to supposedly study the impact of the missiles on US weapons systems.

Washington will not entertain the idea of a working group without a prior postponement of the delivery.

On 13 May, a source familiar with the matter said the United States had asked Turkey to delay taking delivery of the S-400 system, currently scheduled for July, in return for potentially approving the formation of...