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“We will get this $1.4 billion of ours one way or another,” Erdogan told reporters on a flight home from Nigeria on Thursday (10/21/2021), as quoted by Reuters. Sputniknews.
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“I’m sure we will make progress. We will of course discuss this with (US President) Biden at the G-20 meeting in Rome,” Erdogan continued, referring to the event scheduled for October 30-31 2021.
In December 2017, the governments of Turkey and Russia signed a deal to buy Moscow’s S-400 missile defense system for $2.5 billion. The deal has sparked conflict between the US and Turkey, which is a NATO ally.
Washington argues that the S-400 missile system could be used by Russia to covertly obtain classified details on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter jet. America also claims that Moscow’s advanced defense weapons are not compatible with NATO systems.
“Turkey’s decision to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system makes its continued engagement with the F-35 impossible. The F-35 cannot coexist with the Russian intelligence gathering platform that it will use to study its advanced capabilities,” the White House statement said in July 2019.
Thus, Washington excluded Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter jet project, which also includes the remaining seven partners: Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway.
In defense of its deal with Russia, Turkey insisted that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would pose no threat to the alliance.
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