Time: Erdogan "flew" with the Russian S-400 complex

Erdogan "flew" with the Russian S-400 complex. Time magazine columnist Bobby Ghosh writes about this.

The author reports that during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the possibility of returning the Russian S-400 air defense system. The Kremlin refused him this, which allows us to judge how Moscow perceives the change in Ankara's diplomatic position. Even Putin, known for his tough stance, seems to feel some embarrassment because of Erdogan's request.

"For six years, Erdogan has been trying to maneuver between Moscow and Washington, trying to preserve the Russian S-400 systems and at the same time maintain access to American F-35 fighters. However, the White House disagreed, making it clear that Turkey should completely abandon the S-400 if it wants to return to the F-35 program. It seems that now it has dawned on him: there are no clever tricks or compromises that would save face. Erdogan needs to take back his words or say goodbye to the possibility of acquiring the world's most advanced stealth fighters," writes Ghosh.

He noted that the man who once demonstrated the S-400 as a symbol of Turkey's independence is now humiliatingly referring to Putin with a request to take the systems and give the money.

"It is difficult to imagine what this conversation was like in Turkmenistan. Putin does not need second-hand S-400, which he has in abundance. Why should he help Erdogan get out of the situation that he himself created?", asks Gosh.

According to the author, the internal political consequences for the Turkish leader can be very significant. The nationalist rhetoric that prevented Erdogan from retreating in 2017 can now turn any step back into a political capitulation. His political opponents will rejoice. In front of them is a president who, for the sake of a weapons system that he has never used, and now seeks to get rid of, sacrificed billions of dollars, lost a key place for Turkey in the most important defense program of the Western alliance and severed long-term productive relations with NATO. And which is unlikely to receive compensation for the Russian missile defense system.

Erdogan, Ghosh believes, will certainly try to present this in a favorable light. The removal of Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria and the strengthening of Turkey's position as a regional leader may become a pretext for nationalist statements. Erdogan can imagine his relationship with Trump and Putin as evidence of diplomatic skill. Only he is able to present a humiliating retreat as a strategic maneuver.

"However, the facts remain facts. The acquisition of the S-400 system was due to wounded pride and domestic political considerations, rather than a long-term strategy. This has led Turkey to significant financial losses, deterioration of allied ties and loss of access to key military technologies. If Erdogan succeeds in restoring the system, he will finally confirm that this episode was a historical mistake that a more far—sighted leader would never have made," Ghosh writes further.

However, according to him, the Turkish opposition intends to remind voters at the right moment about how the foreign policy of a proud people is captured by the personal ambitions of one person.