Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems can be delivered to Turkey before July, said Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan.

Earlier, Turkey stated that the country would not abandon plans to buy S-400 and that the first batch of air defense systems should enter the country this year. The United States claims that the S-400 systems are incompatible with NATO standards, threaten with sanctions for their possible acquisition, and have repeatedly said that they can delay or cancel the sale of Turkey’s own newest F-35 aircraft.

“The job is done, everything is finished, we are saying. It was expected that the handover of the S-400 missile defense system would take place in July, but it can perhaps be brought forward,” Ahvalnews reported. 

“We are here as a NATO member with one of its strongest armies,” Erdoğan said. “Why can’t a strong NATO member have a powerful air defence system?”