George Kent: Reports on the transfer of S-400 to Azerbaijan are unfounded

Baku / 02.05.19 / Turan: Security, reform and, above all, in the legal sphere, as well as the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan"s support for the international coalition forces in Afghanistan remain an important topic of bilateral relations, the Assistant Secretary of State said at a briefing in Baku on Thursday George Kent.

How true are the media reports that Azerbaijan has closed airspace for NATO aircraft? Answering this question, Kent said that there are no problems for NATO aircraft.

"American planes fly freely. It is possible that we are talking about problems for German aviation, but this does not apply to the NATO-Azerbaijan relationship. This is a bilateral issue between Azerbaijan and Germany," said Kent.

Asking the question from Turan about the US reaction to the possible acquisition of air defense systems by Turkey S-400 and their transfer to Azerbaijan, Assistant Secretary of State said that the position of Washington is unchanged. The use by the Turkey-NATO-member the Russian systems creates a threat to the NATO security system. "We have stated unequivocally that if these systems are deployed, Turkey will not receive our F-35 aircraft," said Kent.

There are a lot of speculations and interpretations around this issue. Turkey signed an agreement on the production of some parts of these aircraft and a high-ranking American general Scaparotti stated unequivocally that if Russia deployed Russian systems, Turkey would not receive an F-35," said Kent.

With regard to the possible transfer of S-400 to Azerbaijan, according to the Assistant Secretary of State, these conversations come from the Turkish side and they are groundless, but in any case, the question should be addressed to Ankara.

"In any case, this is a serious matter and it is not closed, the position of the United States is unchanged," Kent stressed. -02B-