Turkey has received the first shipment of a sophisticated Russian surface-to-air missile system, setting up a standoff with Washington. The U.S. has warned Turkey that it will be punished with economic sanctions and the cancellation of its order of F-35 fighter jets if it sets up the Russian system within its borders. Washington fears that Turkey using Russian weapons and the F-35 could give Russia access to the American jets’ stealth technology. Turkey and the U.S. are both members of NATO, but, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has been establishing closer ties to Moscow. Erdogan warned the U.S. to think carefully before committing to sanctions against his country, saying: “They should think deeply, because losing a country like Turkey will not be easy... If we are friends, if we are strategic partners, then we should handle this issue between each other.”
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