Purchase of S-400s ‘not a problem to NATO,’ says Cavusoglu

Turkey’s acquisition of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system will not create problems for the US-led NATO alliance, the country’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said Tuesday.

“We have no issue with NATO, when you look at the statements of the secretary general, even the deputy secretary general with regard to S-400s and other issues, it is not a problem to NATO. Turkey is in top five in contributions to NATO,” Cavusoglu was quoted by TASS news agency as saying during a visit to Thailand for the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“So, it [the issue of problems between Turkey and NATO] has been never raised at NATO summits,” Cavusoglu said, according to the report. “It is more of a bilateral issue between Turkey and the United States.”

Earlier Tuesday, Cavusoglu held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.