UPDATE - Turkey needs more air defense systems: Foreign minister

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM CAVUSOGLU

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday his country needs more air defense systems in addition to Russia’s S-400.

The S-400 battery alone is not enough, Turkey needs new and additional air defense systems, Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his Somali counterpart Ahmed Issa Awad in the Turkish capital Ankara.

"A product is not purchased for storage. The air defense system has a serious cost but more than that, we have needs," Cavusoglu said, in response to criticism on Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 air-defense system.

Noting that his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Brussels was held on latter’s request, Cavusoglu said S-400 was the most discussed issue during the talks.

"We continue to talk about this issue with the U.S., but it is essentially impossible to accept enforcing style or approach here," he said.

The Turkish minister also reiterated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's earlier remarks that Turkey can purchase Patriot missiles if the U.S. guarantees it.

"If the U.S. shows positive attitude regarding Patriots and if they get approval from the Congress, we will negotiate. We agree on prices and other issues. In fact, for the first time during [Erdogan’s] visit [to Washington], the Americans had a positive approach to joint production and technology."

Despite the positive approach on joint production of Patriots, there is no guarantee of that. Turkey can purchase it from other countries, Cavusoglu added.

He went on to say that the dissent between Turkey and the U.S. is one of the issues that negatively affects Turkey-US relations.

Touching on the F-35 fighter jet program, the Turkish foreign minister noted that Turkey invested $1.4 billion and have made products worth $2.2 billion so far.

"In the worst case scenario, when we cannot purchase F-35 jets, we will need fighter jets and we will look for other alternatives," he said.

Speaking on Turkey-Somalia relations, Cavusoglu stressed that stability and security of Somalia are important for everyone as well as for Africa, and Turkey will continue to support Somalia's fight against terrorism.

Ankara received its first Russian S-400 missiles in July. The delivery of the first battery was completed on July 25, and of the second batch started in August.

In April 2017, when its protracted efforts to buy an air defense system from the U.S. proved fruitless, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to acquire the S-400 anti-missile shield.

Opposing deployment of the Russian system, U.S. officials argued that they would be incompatible with NATO systems and would expose its F-35 jets to possible Russian subterfuge.

Turkey, however, stressed that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems, and posed no threat to the alliance or its armaments.

Turkey also proposed a commission to clarify any technical issues, but the U.S. has failed to respond.

Ankara has rebuffed suggestions from U.S. leaders that it leaves the Russian S-400 system unactivated in order to avoid possible U.S. sanctions.

The S-400 is seen as one of the most advanced missile systems in the world, capable of tracking several targets simultaneously.