Erdogan: No step back from S-400 deal with Russia
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would not step back from an S-400 missile deal with Russia - again defying US threats, Al Jazeera reports.
Last week, a top Pentagon official said the consequences would be "devastating" for Turkey's joint F-35 fighter programme and its cooperation with NATO if the country went ahead with plans to buy the Russian anti-aircraft weapon system.
"There is an agreement. We have determination. It is out of the question to take a step back from it," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Tuesday.
He also said an offer from the United States to sell Patriot missiles to Turkey was not as good as the Russian offer.
Ties between the NATO allies have been strained over Ankara's decision to buy the S-400 missile system, which Washington says could compromise its F-35 fighter jets that Ankara is also set to buy.
US officials urged Turkey to buy Patriot missiles rather than the S-400 from Moscow, arguing it is incompatible with NATO weapons systems.
Ankara responded saying it was the US refusal to sell Patriots to Turkey that led it to seek other vendors, adding Russia offered a better deal, including technology transfers.
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