ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) The United States and Turkey will once again discuss the latter's acquisition of Russian S-400 air defense systems, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Sputnik on Thursday.
"The meeting will take place [in Ankara] on Friday," the diplomat said.
It is not clear which officials are due to represent each side during the meeting.
On Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington. During the talks, Trump said that Turkey's S-400 acquisition "creates some very serious challenges" for the US, noting that the two leaders had tasked their national security advisers with resolving the matter. Two days later, Turkey announced that it had begun working on a joint "mechanism" with the US to evaluate the potential effect the purchase would have on the country's future in the US F-35 multirole fighter program.
The United States has repeatedly objected to Ankara's purchase of the S-400, saying that the weapon system is incompatible with NATO security standards and might therefore compromise the operations of new fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets.
Washington has repeatedly called upon Turkey to cancel the deal with Russia and instead purchase its own Patriot missile defense systems. In July, the US suspended Turkey's participation in the F-35 program � complete removal from the project is expected in late March 2020. The Turkish government has so far refused to succumb to Washington's pressure.
