Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara will not take a step back from S-400 missile deal with Russia.
"There is a certain step that we took, there is an agreement here and we are committed to it . It is out of the question for us to take a step back," Erdogan said in an interview with the Haberturk TV.
The Turkish leader noted Turkey had offered to set up groups with the United States to work together on the issue, without saying what Washington’s response had been. He also said Turkey had also been discussing a U.S. offer to sell Patriot missiles.
"However, unfortunately the U.S. side has not given us an offer as good as the S400s," Reuters cited Erdogan as saying.
Turkey’s deal to buy the Russian S-400s, which could be delivered within weeks, has alarmed Washington and Turkey’s other Western NATO allies, who say the Russian system is incompatible with NATO’s defense network and poses a threat to U.S. F-35 fighter jets that Turkey also plans to buy.
