President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey would not withdraw from a deal made with Russia to buy an S400 missile defence system despite pressure from the United States.
"We have made an agreement (with Russia). We are determined. There is nothing like backtracking from that," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency. Ankara's desire to buy the Russian S400 system has been a major source of contention between NATO allies Turkey and the United States, which has threatened sanctions.
Last week, a top Pentagon official said the consequences would be "devastating" for Turkey's joint F-35 fighter programme and its cooperation with NATO if the country goes ahead with plans to buy the Russian defence system.