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
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe 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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