Erdogan: Turkey not to hesitate about buying more S-400 missiles

Turkey is not pulling back from buying more S-400 air defense missiles from Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, according to the Aksam newspaper.

"We don't have any hesitation about Russia, the purchase of the second batch (of S-400s), and so on,” Erdogan told reporters on his plane while returning from a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Aksam said. “We are making many steps with Russia, whether it be on the S-400 issue or the defense industry."

Turkey bought a battery of S-400 missiles from Russian in 2019 even amid stern resistance from the United States and other NATO allies. Former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey’s defense industry after it tested the system last year.

Erdogan said Turkey would take up the issue of purchasing more S-400s during an upcoming trip to Russia, Ahval news channel reported.

The Turkish president also spoke about the government’s plans to introduce legislation reducing the proportion of votes that political parties must win to enter parliament at elections.

Erdogan said that his governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) favored cutting the threshold to 7 percent from 10 percent. Its far-right political allies the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also looked positively at the proposal, he said. Turkey is due to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in 2023.

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