Erdogan says Trump can waive sanctions on Turkey for Russian defence purchase

Similarly, Diliman Abdulkader, director of external relations at Allegiance Strategies, LLC, and a Middle East analyst, told JNS that the Trump administration should levy sanctions on Turkey.

According to the officials, Trump will announce the sanctions sometime later this week, after Monday's anniversary of the 2016 coup attempt against President Recip Tayyip Erdogan. "Turkish relations. I don't think it's going to get better any time soon", said Eric Edelman, who served as USA ambassador to Turkey from 2003 to 2005. Turkey's cooperation with Russian Federation has been strongly criticized not only by the United States but also by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as they continue to cite concerns over the S-400 systems' incompatibility with NATO's air defence systems.

While the S-400 is widely recognized as one of the most advanced missile systems in the world, its practical use is in question, given its incompatible with the rest of Turkey's North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military systems. "In this context, the eighth plane landed at Murted Airbase", the ministry said in a Twitter post.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish president said the S-400 deal with Russian Federation was a most important agreement for present-day Turkey.

Broadcaster Haberturk quoted Erdogan as telling Turkish journalists that Trump "has the authority to waive or postpone CAATSA", referring to USA sanctions created to prevent countries buying military equipment from Russian Federation.

Trump expressed sympathy for Turkey's position when he met Erdogan at a G20 summit in Japan last month, saying Ankara had bought the S-400s from Moscow because the previous US administration would not sell it the Patriot defence system made by Raytheon Co. "We are trying to guarantee peace and our national security", Haberturk quoted Erdogan as saying.

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The Trump administration was publicly silent Friday on how it would respond to the delivery, with the Pentagon postponing a news conference. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar earlier said that the deployment of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems could begin in October 2019.

"Delivery of parts of the S-400 Long Range Air and Missile Defense Systems is continuing".

"President Erdogan was given a very clear choice. Why should we? We are strategic partners, let's do what strategic partnership entails".

Turkey went through with the acquisition, defying repeated warnings from the United States, which has blocked the sale of the F-35 fighter jet in response, in addition to threatening sanctions on Ankara.

The US is concerned the S-400 could be used to gather data on F-35 capabilities if Turkey has both.