Erdoğan: We told Trump that we will not abandon the S-400

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he conveyed to U.S. President Donald Trump that Turkey would not be abandoning the S-400 missile defense system it is purchasing from Russia, while speaking in a group parliamentary meeting on Tuesday.  

The purchase of the S-400 system, the second delivery of which was made from Russia to Turkey in September, has caused significant damage to U.S.-Turkey relations, particularly considering that Ankara is a key NATO ally for Washington and has the organizations's second-largest military after the US. 

“We explained to Mr. Trump how we came to the point of purchasing the system. He himself has acknowledged that we were right. We explained to Trump that Turkey was not going to take a step backward on this topic. We repeated our request for the Patriot system from the U.S. We mentioned the wrongdoings concerning the F-35 fighter jets. Regarding the F-35's, Turkey is not a customer but a partner,” Erdoğan said, referencing Turkey being booted from the F-35 program after its purchase of the Russian S-400. 

“Upon Trump's invitation, we visited the U.S. last week. With the contributions of our commissions, we conducted productive meetings. It is not a secret that American-Turkish relations have gone through a difficult period. Our aim is to leave this period behind,” Erdoğan said. 

“The developments in our region and in the world require America and Turkey to be close to one another,” Erdoğan added. 

US ‘still hoping’ Turkey will give up on Russian S-400 system 

Meanwhile, U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said that the U.S. was still “hoping” Turkey will give up on its deployment of the S-400 missile system. “We are worried about Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system. This will have consequences on the issue of weapon compatibility, including the F-35 jet issue,” Hutchison told reporters on Nov. 19 in Brussels, according to Sputnik Türkiye. 

“But still, we are still hoping that Turkey will give up on its deployment of the S-400,” Hutchison reportedly said.  

Opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu's claim on pensions

On Nov. 19, Erdoğan also lashed out at main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, accusing him of lying after Kılıçdaroğlu said that there were retirees in Turkey who were receiving pensions of less than 1000 TL a month. 

“Perhaps he has remained in the time when he was president of the Social Insurance Institution. During your tenure, there were people who were getting 60 TL [a month],” Erdoğan said, referring to Kılıçdaroğlu's stint as the head of the institution during the 1990's. 

Erdoğan also referenced the latest unemployment figures, which reached the 14 percent mark.

“Of course every single one of our unemployed brothers in our country is a source of sadness for us. Despite the fact that 9 million jobs were created during the [ruling Justice and Development Party] period, our unemployment is at the 14 percent level,” Erdoğan said.