Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara has already bought the Russian S-400 missile defense systems, stressing that it is a done deal.

“I’m not saying Turkey will buy S-400 defense systems, it has already bought them; we’ve closed the deal,” Erdogan told his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s group meeting in the capital Ankara on Wednesday.

He noted that Ankara and Moscow had signed the deal with a pledge for a reasonable price and future joint production.

“This [S-400] system will be delivered to our country next month,” Erdogan added.

Touching on Turkey’s procurement of F-35 fighter jets from the US, Erdogan said his country is not only a customer, but also co-producer of the jets.

Ankara had paid $1 billion 250 million for the F-35 jets until today, the president underlined.

Tensions between the US and Turkey have reached a fever pitch in recent months with Turkey set to begin receiving the advanced S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system which Washington said will jeopardize Turkey’s role in the US F-35 fighter jet program and could trigger congressional sanctions.

Source: Anadolu news agency