Turkey: BBP leader backs S-400 deal

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey should not give up purchasing Russia’s S-400 missile defense system, the head of the opposition Grand Unity Party (BBP) said Thursday.

"In this period, Turkey should not give up on three things: the purchase of S-400s, a possible cross-border operation which will hopefully be conducted east of the Euphrates after [Eid al-Fitr] and our acquisitions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea," said Mustafa Destici, speaking to reporters in parliament.

Turkey decided in 2017 to purchase the S-400 system following protracted efforts to purchase air defense systems from the U.S. with no success.

Destici also noted that his party backs the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria.

In this regard, he stressed that the Turkish government should not give up fighting against terrorism through cross-border operations.

Destici's remarks came after the Turkish Armed Forces launched Operation Claw on Monday against the PKK terror group.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including many women and children.