WASHINGTON
State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki Tuesday said US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced US concerns over Turkey's potential missile defense deal with a Chinese firm during his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Monday.
She was responding to media reports, which claimed that Davutoglu said Turkey has been speaking with a Chinese firm for four years concerning a potential missile defense deal, and that no concerns were voiced during that time.
"But this started in 2009. For four years, nobody raised any concern. Nobody said this is not good for NATO”, said Davutoglu while speaking to reporters Monday.
“It's hard to believe we wouldn't have concerns about an agreement on a system -- a potential agreement on a system that's not interoperable with NATO and with a company that has U.S. sanctions against it. So -- but in terms of the timing, I don't have any details on that,” said Psaki during Tuesday's press briefing.
After a similar question, she said, “Secretary Kerry reiterated our concerns and the importance of procuring a NATO-interoperable system, which has long been a concern we've expressed to Turkey. And that was how he conveyed it during the meeting yesterday,” she added.
-Nagorno-Karabakh
In a statement issued Tuesday, Psaki said that Washington welcomes Tuesday’s meeting between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, and is encouraged by the agreement to meet in the coming months.
“Their first meeting in almost two years, this summit is an important step toward restarting dialogue and demonstrates the leaders’ shared commitment to bring an end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group along with Russia and France, the United States urges both presidents to work actively towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which has taken a heavy toll on the people on all sides,” she said.
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