US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said today, Thursday, that President John Biden and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, did not reach a solution to the dispute between the two countries over Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, during their summit. Last Monday, the two leaders agreed on the file of securing the Afghan capital, Kabul, airport.
In statements to reporters, Sullivan added that Washington and Ankara are committed to continuing the dialogue on the S-400 file, and that working teams from the two countries will follow up on this file.
And Erdogan said, earlier today, in a press statement in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, "I told Biden that he should not expect Turkey to take different steps regarding the files of the F-35 planes and the S-400 system."
Addressing the American side, he explained, "We asked you for Patriot systems and you refused to sell them to us, but you withdrew the systems deployed in our military bases, and therefore we had no choice but to search for solutions on our own," referring to Ankara's conclusion of a deal with Moscow to buy the S-400 missile defense system. .
The US Department of Defense had informed Turkey that it had been excluded from the F-35 program, due to Ankara's purchase of the Russian air defense system.
Erdogan and Biden met last Monday on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meetings in Brussels, and the Turkish president said that the meeting was positive and fruitful, and that he invited Biden to visit Turkey.
Afghan file
On the other hand, the US National Security Adviser said that his country welcomes Turkey's pledge during the Erdogan-Biden summit to secure the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, as soon as the US forces leave Afghanistan, adding that Turkey will play a leading role in securing Hamid Karzai International Airport.
The Turkish president said that his country can assume more responsibility in Afghanistan after the completion of the withdrawal of the United States and NATO from there next September.
Russia has expressed its rejection of Turkish forces remaining in Afghanistan after the complete withdrawal of US forces, and its foreign ministry said today that the stay of Turkish forces contradicts the peace agreement signed between Washington and the Taliban movement in the Qatari capital, Doha, in February 2020.
In a related context, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that his country will turn to a new bilateral relationship with its partners in Afghanistan, to help them fulfill their responsibilities towards their citizens.
In a speech before a Senate committee, he added that the military presence in Afghanistan would be limited to the number needed to protect US diplomats there.
For his part, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, said that there are no guarantees that the worst-case scenario and the collapse of the Afghan government after the withdrawal from Afghanistan will not occur.
He added, in a Senate hearing, that the Department of Defense (Pentagon) will continue to work with the Afghan government and fund its forces to prevent the collapse of this government.