Turkey slams US State Department statement on S-400s

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - With the arrival of Russian S-400 missile defense systems imminent, Turkey urged the U.S. on Wednesday to refrain from missteps that could harm bilateral ties.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy said a statement made Tuesday by the U.S. State Department about Turkey’s purchase of the air defense system was incompatible with a previous meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump during last month's G20 Summit.

Underlining that the conditions that led Turkey to buy the Russian systems were well-known, Aksoy added that Trump confirmed this at the G20 Summit when he made it clear that Turkey had been treated unfairly by previous U.S. administrations.