Turkish President to meet Trump at UN on Syria, F-35s

Turkey’s president announced Friday that he would meet with his US counterpart in the UN General Assembly in late September, Anadolu Agency reports.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that he would mainly discuss the issues surrounding the northwestern Syrian town of Manbij, on which Turkey and the US came to a deal focusing on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the region.

Erdogan also underlined that Turkey would “take care” of itself if the the Washington continued its current stance on Turkey’s exclusion from the F-35 fighter jet program.

US officials have expressed that short of completely doing away with the Russian S-400 system, Ankara would not be allowed to return to the Joint Strike Fighter program.

The Trump administration suspended Turkey from the F-35 system over Ankara’s receipt of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, but there is some hope centred on a compromise wherein Turkey could keep the Russian anti-air system, but keep it turned off in order to return to the program.

READ: Turkey to seek for alternative in case not getting F-35 jets

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced reluctance to penalise Turkey over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defence system, doing so when announcing Ankara’s removal from the program in July.

The Trump administration has maintained that the S-400 system could expose the advanced fighter to possible Russian subterfuge and is incompatible with NATO systems.

Russian Antonov AN-124 Ruslan transport aircraft, carrying the first batch of equipment of S-400 missile defense system, arrives at Murted Air Base in Ankara, Turkey on 12 July 2019 as S-400 hardware deployment started. [Turkey’s National Defense Ministry / Handout – Anadolu Agency]

Turkey, however, counters that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.

Regarding a safe zone in northern Syria the US and Turkey agreed to establish Erdogan said that US delegation sought to further narrow 20-mile safe zone, though temporary agreement holds.

Turkish and US military officials reached an agreement on Aug. 7 that the safe zone in northern Syria will serve as a “peace corridor” for displaced Syrians longing to return home and a Joint Operations Centre in Turkey will be set up to coordinate its establishment.

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