Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the cooperation of the defense industry which deepened with Russia during talks with his colleague Vladimir Putin this week, the Turkish leader said Thursday.
Erdogan and Putin held their first face-to-face talks in 18 months at the Black Sea Resort of Sochi Wednesday, with high Syrian conflicts on their agenda.
“We have the opportunity to discuss what steps we can take on aircraft motorcycles, fighter planes,” said the Turkish leader to reporters by returning to Turkey.
“Another area where we can take a few steps together to build a boat.
We will God be willing to take a step together even on submarines,” he added, the NTV announcer reported.
His comments will raise eyebrows in the west and especially in the United States, after Washington slapped sanctions on Turkey last year for the purchase of multi-billion dollars from the S-400 air defense system made by Russia.
The US also expelled Turkey from the F-35 program where Western allies produced the next generation fighter jet spare parts and secured the initial purchase rights.
Ankara expects as many as 100 stealth fighter jets, and some Turkish suppliers are involved in construction.
Erdogan reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to the S-400, vowed Ankara “won’t take a step back” from the purchase, but asked us to give Turkish aircraft or returned a payment of $ 1.4 billion.
The relationship between Turkey and US tense, and Erdogan admitted last week that his personal relationship with US President Joe Biden had “did not leave for a good start”.
Erdogan also said he proposed that Turkey and Russia could work together to build two nuclear power plants, where the Russian agreed to work together.
Turkey’s first nuclear power plant was being built by the Russian state nuclear energy company on the south coast of the country and is expected to be online for the Turkish Centenary as the post-Ottoman Republic of 2023.
Despite the warm words of Erdogan, the relationship between Turkey and Russia complicated, With both countries on the opposite side in conflict such as Libya and Syria.
Erdogan only offered unclear comments about the negotiations of the two men about Northwestern Syria where regime and Moscow forces had increased air strikes in recent weeks.
“We focus on the need to take a shared step about this problem,” Erdogan said.