As Turkey drifts away from the US, will Russia give it what it wants?

Source:al Monitor Date:19Apr2019

If NATO were to shut down the Kurecik radar, Ankara could be left with no choice but to turn to Russia for a matching radar system, seeing as it does not have the capability to produce this itself.

This is what makes Ankara’s S-400 deal inexplicable, according to Er. “I can find no economic explanation, let alone a military or political one, for why Turkey would engage itself to somewhere else when it can enjoy the fruits of NATO’s defense resources,” he argued.

The wisdom of turning to Russia is being debated by other Turkish analysts, too. Many argue that the United States may have pushed Turkey to this position, but they are still not sure that Ankara’s reliance on Moscow is justified.