U.S. President Donald Trump said on July 26 he does not blame Turkey for its acquisition of the Russian S-400 anti-air missile system, Hurriyet reports.
"There's a lot of circumstances and a lot of problems that occurred during the Obamaadministration," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "This dates back to the Obamaadministration, which was a disaster."
The comments are the latest expressing the president's reluctance to impose penalties on Turkey for acquiring the S-400.
He did so last week when announcing Ankara's removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Turkey's expulsion is slated to be completed by the end of March 2020.
Trump is further considering how to proceed with a law mandating sanctions for entities that conduct business with Russian defense firms.
