Pentagon urges Turkey to maintain constructive attitude

A source from the Pentagon said that the United States is trying to maintain constructive dialogue with Turkey, amid a fresh row over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks on shutting down two U.S. strategic compounds. "We see our troops in Turkey as a symbol of our decades-long responsibility to help protect our NATO ally and strategic partner," Sputnik cited the source as saying in response to Erdoğan's threat to shut down the military base in İncirlik and the Kürecik Radar Station in protest of the Armenian Genocide bill that was passed in the U.S. Congress.

Duvar English

The Pentagon urged Ankara to maintain a constructive attitude, a source said in response to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks on shutting down a strategic U.S. military base in southern Turkey and a radar station in the country's southeast.

Erdoğan on Dec. 16 threatened to shut down İncirlik Air Base and Kürecik Radar Station over ongoing disputes between Ankara and Washington, including the former's military offensive in northern Syria, prompting Pentagon to call for constructive dialogue.

According to the source, the Pentagon is carrying out efforts to protect the relationship between the two NATO allies, as it also urged Turkish authorities to maintain dialogue on Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Ankara’s purchase of the S-400s has been a major factor souring relations with the United States, which says the system is not compatible with NATO defenses and poses a threat to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Washington has suspended Turkey from the F-35 program, which it was a buyer and producer of, to punish it for the S-400 purchase.

Speaking to Sputnik, the source said that Washington perceives its troops in Turkey as a symbol of "our decades-long responsibility to help protect our NATO ally and strategic partner."

Erdoğan's threat to shut down the US military base in İncirlik came as a response to the United States Congress passing a bill that acknowledges the Armenian Genocide.