Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said Russian S-400 defenses would begin arriving within 10 days, Turkish media reported, setting the clock ticking on possible U.S. sanctions after his warm meeting with President Donald Trump on Saturday.
Turkey and the United States, NATO allies, have been at odds over Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400s, with Washington warning of U.S. sanctions if the delivery took place.
Turkey has dismissed the warnings from Congress and Trump’s top secretaries, saying it would not back down and holding out hope that the White House could protect it from sanctions that could hit its already soft currency and economy.
Erdogan’s comments offered the most specific timeline yet on the delivery of the ground-to-air missiles that U.S. officials have said are not compatible with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defenses.
“Within 10 days, maybe within one week, the first shipment will have arrived. I told Trump this openly,” Erdogan was cited as saying on Sunday by Hurriyet newspaper after his meeting with Trump in Japan.
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