Turkey’s buying of a Russian S-400 air defense missile system should not trigger US sanctions because Ankara is not an adversary of Washington and remains committed to the NATO alliance, stated Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Reuters reported.

According to him, Turkey expects to remain not only the buyer of the newest American F-35 fighter jets, but also one of the partner countries participating in their production, despite US warnings that Ankara will be excluded from the project in case of purchasing of S-400.

Akar added that Turkey is also assessing a renewed offer from the United States to buy Patriot missile defense systems.