Photo: Natalia Gubernatorova
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained why his country bought S-400 air defense systems from Russia. According to the head of state, this would not happen if, for example, the United States sold its Patriot missile defense system to Turkey.
In an interview with The New York Times, published after Erdogan's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the Turkish president recalled that former NATO and former US President Donald Trump had confirmed Ankara's right to choose arms suppliers independently. Erdogan also said he did not regret that such a policy was damaging relations between Turkey and the United States.
At the end of July this year, Washington threatened Ankara with new sanctions if Turkey continued to buy Russian weapons systems. The Turkish authorities then declared such demands unacceptable.