Turkish Foreign Minister: The United States' Attitude Is Not In Line With The Spirit Of The Alliance!
JAKARTA - Strong satire against the United States has again come from Turkey, related to the alliance of the two NATO allies and Washington's policies.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt avuşoğlu said the United States' attitude towards Turkey was not in line with the spirit of the alliance on Thursday.
"The US cooperation with the PKK/PYD/YPG (terror group), the presence of FETO in the US, and its attitude towards the S-400 sanctions are not in line with the spirit of the alliance," avuşoğlu said before lawmakers, quoting Yenisafak on November 5.
He said Turkey's views were "clearly emphasized" by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, Italy last week.
Nevertheless, avuşoğlu said Ankara and Washington would form a working group to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries.
"We previously made an offer (for the working group) to the US, but this time the offer came from the US, from (President) Biden," he said.
A particular point of contention between Turkey and the US is the issue of the F-35 fighter jet. Turkey paid $1.4 billion for the jets, but Washington kicked Ankara out of the program in 2019 for buying Russia's S-400 defense system after its efforts to acquire US Patriot missiles were rejected.
The US claims the Russian system is a security risk, but Turkey says the S-400 will pose no threat to NATO or its arsenal, as it will not be integrated into the alliance's systems.
Previously, Turkey has also repeatedly proposed the creation of a commission to resolve this issue.