February 22, 2020. 15:50
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Thursday said there
should be no doubt that Turkey will activate the S-400 missile system it
purchased from Russia.
Akar was speaking in an interview with broadcaster CNN Türk,
according to Reuters.
Turkey’s procurement of Russian missiles has strained its
relations with the Western bloc, especially the United States.
Observers started questioning Ankara’s S-400 purchase after
a conflict in Syria’s Idlib region between the Turkish and Russian governments
began to escalate.
According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, Turkey has
asked Washington for Patriot missile batteries to back its soldiers in
northwestern Syria.