New U.S. Defense Chief Renews Warning to Turkey on Russia S-400

(Bloomberg) -- Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reaffirmed the U.S. warning that it will stop providing F-35 fighter jets to Turkey if the NATO member goes through with its planned purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

“If Turkey procures the S-400, it will mean they will not receive the F-35,” Esper told reporters en route to Brussels for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization conference on Tuesday. “It’s that simple.”

Esper, who took charge of the Pentagon this week after the resignation of the previous acting secretary, Patrick Shanahan, is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, during the gathering of defense ministers.

The U.S. says it won’t stand by while Turkey purchases a Russian system designed to shoot down planes like the Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to go ahead with the S-400 purchase, and he plans to make his case when he meets with President Donald Trump at the G-20 summit in Japan that begins later this week.

Read More: Turkey May Receive S-400s in First Week of July, Officials Say

Separately, Esper, who previously served as Army secretary, said he would discuss with his NATO counterparts how to maintain pressure on Islamic State. “The conversation now pivots toward how do we make sure that the embers of ISIS doesn’t rise again?” he said. “How do we broaden out that coalition, how do we make sure we keep sufficient pressure on them in a much broader way so they don’t come back to life?”

To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Brussels at gcarey8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert, John Harney

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