Shanahan is trying to persuade Turkey to abandon plans to buy the Russian S-400 system

The acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said he’s trying to persuade Turkey to abandon plans to buy the Russian missile defense system, saying it would jeopardize the chances of selling the next generation of the F-35, which Turkey shares in production to Ankara.

In an interview with the Bloomberg news agency at his Pentagon office late Thursday, Shanahan said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar five times since becoming acting defense minister on January 1.

Some of the talks focused on US policy on Syria, where President Donald Trump is seeking to withdraw his troops from there. Shanahan said the S-400 missile defense system was a key issue in the talks.

“The S-400 and F-35 are not compatible in the sense that they do not fit together”, he said.

“We want a solution that makes F-35 an important asset for a strategic partner in his army”, he said, referring to Turkey.

When asked what the United States could offer if Turkey went ahead – as its officials repeat – in the way of purchasing a complex missile defense system, Shanahan said, “We’ll deal with it if it happens, but we are talking about verifying it” on US Patriot Air Defense Systems Made.

“This is the discussion I was making”.

Turkey rejected a US proposal to hand over a Patriot missile defense system by the end of 2019.

It was a condition for Ankara to abandon the deal with Russia, two Turkish officials familiar with the talks said Friday.

The proposal did not include a loan agreement or a technology sharing deal, a key Turkish demand, the officials said.