The Turkish leader says he will speak to President Trump, as Washington threatens to cut Ankara from F-35 programme.
Turkey has already purchased S-400 defence systems from Russia and hopes they will be delivered in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, an announcement likely to ratchet up tensions with NATO ally Washington.
Turkey and the United States have sparred publicly for months over Ankara’s order for the S-400s, which are not compatible with NATO’s systems.
“Turkey has already bought S-400 defence systems. It is a done deal. I hope these systems will be delivered to our country next month,” Erdogan said.
The purchase has raised eyebrows among Turkey’s NATO allies and provoked anger in Washington, which expected Ankara to opt for the American Patriot air defence system instead.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that if Turkey did not give up on the S-400 system by July 3, Ankara would be blocked from purchasing F-35 fighter jets and Turkish pilots currently training in the US would be expelled.
Turkey plans to buy 100 F-35s from the US.
On Monday, US officials announced that Washington had halted the training of Turkish pilots on F-35 fighters at an airbase in the US state of Arizona.
US acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said last week he had sent a letter to his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar informing him of Washington’s decision to pull Turkey out of the F-35 programme.
Turkey has criticised the letter from Washington and said it did not live up to the spirit of the NATO alliance. It is working on a response to be sent in the coming days, according to the Turkish defence minister.
