Nato commander questions Turks' Chinese missile defence deal
Breedlove urges Ankara to consider purchasing system 'compatible' with other treaty members
Nato's top military commander has urged Turkey to buy a missile defence system that is compatible with other Nato systems, questioning whether a proposed US$3.4 billion Chinese system is suitable.
The comments by US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, add to pressure on Ankara to rethink its decision to build a missile defence system with a Chinese firm.
Nato member Turkey said in September it had chosen the FD-2000 missile defence system from China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp over systems from Russian, US and European firms.
CPMIEC is under US sanctions for violating the Iran, North Korea and Syria Non-proliferation Act. Turkey later said its decision on the deal was not final.
Stressing that the choice was for Turkey to make, Breedlove said his concern was that all Nato members took decisions that contributed to the collective defence of the alliance and selected equipment that would work with other Nato systems.
"In my conversations with the Turkish military ... the important point is that we have systems that are completely inter-operable and ... suitable for plugging in to Nato networks," he said in Latvia, where he was visiting a major Nato exercise.