Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview that the possible transfer of Ankara's Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to the United Arab Emirates is still under discussion and any deal must involve Russia, which originally sold the systems. He also accused Israel of deliberately destabilizing Syria and called on Israel to change its regional security approach.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan gave an interview to the National outlet on Saturday, covering S-400 transfer negotiations, US-Iran tensions, and Israeli policy toward Syria.
On the S-400 issue — a central topic of recent weeks — Fidan confirmed talks with the UAE remain ongoing, but insisted Russia must be part of the process. 'There is a common political will from the two presidents,' he said, referring to Erdogan and Trump, but added that Russia's consent is required since it sold the systems to Turkey. The interview adds little new operational detail to the existing reporting; as The Zioneer has covered, Turkey is examining either transferring the S-400s or deactivating them to meet US conditions for rejoining the F-35 program.
On Israel-Syria, Fidan accused Israel of deliberately undermining stability: 'We are not sure Israel wants to see a stable, strong, and developing Syria.' He urged Israel to abandon a strategy it sees as 'security based on the insecurity and division of others.' This marks a less personalized critique than Fidan's Friday remarks, where he singled out Prime Minister Netanyahu's policies (The Zioneer, Jul 10).
On US-Iran tensions, Fidan said President Trump's remarks about the ceasefire ending were misinterpreted, and called for better communications to prevent friction escalation.
2 developments
- StrongKremlin Confirms Talks With Turkey on S-400 Future, Peskov Calls Issue 'Extremely Sensitive'
- StrongErdogan Leverages Trump Ties as Turkey Examines S-400 Transfer or Deactivation for F-35 Return
- DevelopingSegal: Turkey has not earned trust — F-35 sale to Erdogan endangers Israel's security
- DevelopingTurkish FM Fidan criticizes US arms-sale denial to Ankara as 'unjustified'
Source and signal
- Internal intake