Erdogan says it is unclear whether Turkey will buy more Russian arms

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday it was too early to comment on Turkey’s possible purchase of more Russian weapons given Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in Ankara alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Erdogan said Turkey had provided support for Ukraine in a manner NATO allies had not been able to despite its ties with Russia. Ankara was continuing to send humanitarian aid to Kyiv, he said.

“Under the current circumstances, it would be premature to talk about what the future shows, right now. We have to see what the conditions bring. We have to maintain our friendship with Mr. Zelenskiy and Mr. Putin,” Erdogan said.

NATO member Turkey was handed U.S. sanctions in December 2020 over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems and had been criticised by Western allies over the move.

Ankara has said it was forced to opt for the Russian weapons because allies did not provide weapons on satisfactory terms.

Turkey has been in talks to procure a second batch of the S-400s from Russia, but Ankara has said discussions were still ongoing. Washington has warned its NATO ally against purchasing new weapons from Russia.

via Reuters