Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Turkey defends Russia weapons purchase at NATO summit
The Turkish foreign minister defends his country’s purchase of a Russian-made air defense system, the first of its kind by a NATO member.
Mevlut Cavusoglu insists “Turkey is a sovereign country” and says its acquisition of the S400 anti-aircraft system came only because it needed such a system and ran out of other options, such as from the United States.
Cavusoglu spoke at a panel discussion Wednesday before a NATO summit in Brussels.
The S400s wouldn’t be compatible with many other NATO systems that Turkey has and operates.
“It is my urgent need and I tried to buy from many other countries — including China, but I get the best deal from Russia, and I bought it,” Cavusoglu says.
“I tried to buy from my allies.”
— AP
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