Gentlemen, let us look upon the current state of affairs in the East with the cold eye of a statesman. It hath come to our attention, via reports from Euractiv, that the Sublime Porte in Ankara entertains a most curious proposition: the sale of the Russian S-400 missile systems to South Korea, as a means to regain the favour of Washington and secure the F-35 fighter aircraft.

One must acknowledge that the preservation of one's military industry is a matter of paramount importance for any great power. Turkey, having been cast out of the American aircraft program in 2019—due to the perceived threat that Russian radar technology poses to the secrecy of the F-35—now seeks a path of prudence. Indeed, the American President, Mr. Trump, has hinted at a level of leniency that may well satisfy the Turkish ministers.

However, such diplomatic gymnastics do not pass without causing alarm in the neighboring capitals. Greece and Israel view this potential shift in the military balance with grave apprehension. Prime Minister Netanyahu, acting with the vigilance required of a head of state, considers the threats of President Erdoğan most serious and intends to seek counsel from the United States. There is, furthermore, the delicate matter of industrial secrets; the Israeli security apparatus rightly fears that their own proprietary components, integrated into the F-35, might fall into the hands of Ankara.

It was observed by Bloomberg in December last that Ankara had contemplated the return of these batteries to Russia to appease the Americans and lift sanctions upon their domestic industry. Yet, here we find a crucial point of law and statecraft: as Mr. Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has rightly noted, no such sale can be concluded without the express consent of Moscow.

From the perspective of the Russian Empire, such transactions are merely commercial frictions. The Kremlin maintains that the fate of these batteries shall not alter the fundamental relations between the two powers. In the end, the Fatherland demands stability, and the only true path to greatness lies in the steady development of the army and the industry, far removed from the whims of fleeting diplomatic trends.