"Turkey and the U.S. relations does not only consist of the S-400 [missile defense system] and F-35s [fighter jets],” he said at a joint news conference his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, in Hungary's capital. “These are of course important. There are regional and bilateral issues between Turkey and the U.S. such as the withdrawal of American troops from Syria.”
Turkey wanted a missile defense system from a NATO ally, especially the U.S., but Washington does not want to sell to Ankara, he said, highlighting the serious dangers in the Turkish region, Anadolu reported.
As a result, Turkey impressed the urgent need of an air defense system with other countries and the most appropriate proposal it received was from Russia, he said, following protracted efforts to purchase air defense systems Washington with no success.
The process of S-400 have been completed, this is a done deal, he said.
Cavusoglu contended that the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system will completely be under Turkey’s control, pushing back on claims by American officials that it will jeopardize Ankara’s role in the F-35 fighter jet program and could trigger American congressional sanctions.
"President Trump admits that Turkey bought the S-400 because, as he says, the U.S. could not sell the Patriot batteries to Turkey in the past," he said.
Reporter's code: 50101