Turkey Slams Pentagon’s Ultimatum on S-400, Refuses to Reverse Decision

Earlier, the Pentagon grounded Turkish pilots training aboard the F-35 and threatened to block deliveries of the advanced jet to Turkey, while Congress proposed slapping sanctions on Ankara over its S-400 purchase.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that ‘nobody’ is in a position to give Turkey ultimatums regarding its policy when asked to comment on US Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan’s letter to Ankara threatening to block F-35 deliveries over Turkey’s S-400 purchase. According to Cavusoglu, the letter will not make Turkey back down on its S-400 decision.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the foreign minister repeated Ankara’s calls to create a working group to address US concerns over the Russian air defence system.

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