Erdogan says will discuss U.S. missile purchase with Trump

Erdogan says will discuss U.S. missile purchase with Trump

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will discuss buying U.S.-made missiles with President Donald Trump this month despite ongoing tension with Washington sparked by Ankara's purchase of Russia's S-400 missile defence system, Al Jazeera reports.

In an interview with Reuters news agency on Friday, September 13, Erdogan said he discussed buying the surface-to-air Patriot missiles in a phone call with Trump two weeks ago, and would follow up on those talks when the pair meet at the UN General Assembly, which opens next week.

"I said no matter what package of ... S-400s we get, we can buy from you a certain amount of Patriots," Erdogan said.

"But I said we have to see conditions that at least match up to the S-400s," he said, adding that he was referring to the possibility of joint production and favourable lending terms.

The Turkish leader's comments come after Ankara's purchase of the Russian missile system in July irked Washington and raised the prospect of U.S. sanctions being rolled out against its NATO ally.

The State Department has said an offer to sell Raytheon's Patriot missile defence system to Ankara had expired.

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