Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey has already bought the Russian S-400 missile defense systems and that is a done deal.
“I'm not saying Turkey will buy S-400 defense systems, it has already bought them; we’ve closed the deal,” Erdogan told his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s group meeting in Ankara, according to the Anadolu news agency.
He noted that Ankara and Moscow signed the deal with a pledge for a reasonable price and future joint production.
“It is coming in a short time,” Erdogan added.
On Friday, the head of Russian state conglomerate said that Russia would start delivering the S-400 missile systems to Turkey in two months.
Turkey’s decision to purchase the Russian system has resulted in tensions with the United States.
Washington says the S-400 poses a threat to the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealthy fighters, which Turkey also plans to buy.
The US also believes the S-400 sale is part of Russian efforts to disrupt the alliance amid Western concern over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's burgeoning relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last week, US officials said that the United States has decided to stop accepting any additional Turkish pilots who planned to come to the United States to train on F-35 fighter jets due to the S-400 purchase.
Touching on Turkey’s procurement of F-35 fighter jets from the US, Erdogan said on Wednesday his country is not only a customer, but also co-producer of the jets.
Turkish officials insist that the deal to purchase the S-400 does not affect the security of the US and have repeatedly stressed that they will go ahead with the deal despite Washington’s objections.