U.S, Turkey in talks over patriot missiles

Turkey and the United States are in talks over the procurement of the Patriot missile system, and a senior U.S. official is expected to pay a visit to Ankara on March 31 to discuss the issue. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said that Turkey will continue talks on Patriot missiles and other systems compatible with NATO, adding that Ankara looks positively towards all kinds of joint work that will guarantee the security of the southern borders of the country. He said that the U.S. is still an ally despite the situation in Syria. Yıldırım said that this would not be an “alternative” to the Russian S-400 anti-missile defense systems, that are “independent” systems. Turkey continues to hold talks with the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium and the U.S. to buy missile defense systems. In fact, the system that Turkey is buying from Russia cannot be integrated into NATO systems. Foreign Ministry undersecretary Ümit Yalçın is set to visit Washington soon, “possibly next week,” as part of working groups established between Turkey and the U.S., said Aksoy.