philenews / KYPE
We are determined and able to protect our rights and interests in the Blue Homeland, including Cyprus, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. He said they never had a secret agenda and that their S400s had been openly negotiated.
Speaking at a conference on “Safety at Sea”, the Turkish Minister referred to the telephone conversation he had with his American counterpart Lloyd James Austin, describing it as constructive and positive. “Turkey stands for the solution of all problems in the region and in the world on the basis of international law through peaceful methods and in good neighborly relations. However, we are determined and able to protect our rights and interests in the Blue Homeland, including Cyprus. “We will not allow anything to be done,” said Hulusi Akar.
The Turkish Minister said that “at a time when the dangers and threats against our country reached the highest level, we negotiated with our allies for the supply of air defense systems and tried to buy Patriot from the USA and SAMP-T from France. – Italy. However, this was not possible for various reasons. That's why we had to buy the S-400 air defense systems from Russia, which met the conditions we wanted. We did not do it secretly, we never had a hidden agenda. “Our main goal in acquiring these systems was to defend our country and our 84 million citizens from potential threats in the air.”
The Turkish minister said they were ready to respond to the technical concerns of their interlocutors. “We are open and transparent in the negotiations for reasonable and logical solutions. “Turkey's contribution to NATO and NATO to Turkey is much deeper and more comprehensive than the F-35s and S-400s,” he said.
