The Turkish presidency confirmed that Ankara will not back down from owning the Russian S-400 defense system, which has caused US sanctions, while Washington reiterated that its position has not changed in this regard.
On Thursday, confirming Ankara's position, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that his country would seek to solve problems with the United States through dialogue.
And Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said - in a press interview Tuesday - that his country would propose only partial activation of Russian missiles in negotiations with Washington, pointing out that European countries possess Soviet-era weapons, after these countries were members of the Warsaw Pact.
"We are open to negotiating a model similar to that applied to the S-300s (S-300) missiles located on the island of Crete in Greece," Akar added.
But the US State Department spokesman, Ned Price, responded to that - in an interview with Al Jazeera - that Washington’s position has not changed, reiterating the talk about the incompatibility of the Russian defense system with NATO equipment and its contradiction with Turkey’s obligations as an ally.
On Wednesday, the US State Department announced upcoming talks between the US and Turkish foreign ministers soon, and renewed Turkey’s call to backtrack on the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system, despite an initiative put forward by Ankara to avoid US sanctions.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to speak with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in the coming days.
Last year, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara because of these Russian missiles, and made it clear that it prohibited granting any permits to export weapons to the Turkish government agency charged with purchasing military equipment.
And US President Joe Biden had previously pledged, before his election, to adopt a more hardline approach to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.