US warns Turkey of sanctions impact if it buys Russian defenses
S-400 missile
Acting US Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday that Ankara's purchase of Russia's S-400 air defence system would hurt the country's economy due to US sanctions, a senior US official said.
The US further said that the deal would end Turkey's role in the F-35 fighter jet program.
"The secretary was very firm, once again, that Turkey will not have both the S-400 and the F-35. And if they accept the S-400 they should accept ramifications not only to the F-35 program but also to their economic situation," said the senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, after the US-Turkey meeting on the sidelines of NATO gathering in Brussels.
Russian news agencies on Wednesday cited the head of country's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport saying that Moscow will make the first delivery of the S-400 missile systems to Turkey in July.
"We are making first delivery in July as part of out plans," Alexander Mikheev is quoted as saying by RIA news agency.
The plans of Turkey, a NATO member, have irked Washington, which threatened with sanctions against Ankara if it goes ahead with the purchase.
(With inputs from Reuters)