FOR TURKEY'S president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a deal is a deal. "There can never be a turning back," Mr Erdogan said on March 6th, referring to his country's purchase of a Russian air and missile defence system, which America and NATO strongly oppose. "Nobody should ask us to lick up what we spat."
The two S-400 batteries Turkey has ordered from Russia, which come with their own radar, command centre and missile launcher, for a reported $ 2.5bn, pack more bang for the buck than most rival systems. But they may end up costing Turkey much more. Unless it walks away from the deal or mitigates the risks the system poses to NATO, the country could end up on the receiving end of American sanctions. The clock is ticking. Russia plans to deliver the first of the batteries by July of this year.
Having simmered since 2017, when the purchase was made public, the row over the S-400s has recently come to a boil. Days after Mr Erdogan's statement, the Pentagon warned that Turkey would face "grave consequences" for buying the system. Two senior State Department officials are said to have delivered a similar message in person the previous week.
According to the Pentagon, Turkey risks expulsion from the F-35 programme, under which the country stands to acquire 100 fighter jets from America, and sanctions under a law (known as...
The Economist: Europe
