International security

Our Man in NATO: Why Putin Lucked Out With Recep Erdogan

Without firing a single shot, deploying a single tank or using a single internet troll, Moscow can soon destroy the unity of NATO by removing a key country from its military network.

What’s more, Russia will receive $2.5 billion for its efforts and not a single new sanction.

This is a victory that was unimaginable only a few years ago.

I am talking, of course, about Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s decision to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system.

The U.S. has tried to block the deal ever since Moscow and Ankara announced it in December 2017, initially claiming that the system was incompatible with NATO air defense systems. (It turns out, however, that NATO missiles can be fitted to the S-400.)

But Washington soon put forward its main argument — namely, that the S-400 is incompatible with the United States’ newest fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet that should serve as the main aircraft of the NATO Air Force. That news triggered a “slow train wreck” in U.S.-Turkish relations.