Erdogan risks sanctions with April date for activating Russian S-400s

Turkey will activate its Russian-made S-400 missile-defense systems in April, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, possibly setting his country on a collision course with its NATO allies.

“The S-400s are our property now. We’ve taken delivery of all of it. They will be made operational in April,” Erdogan said on his return to Istanbul from talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow, according to Turkish media.

Washington has threatened Turkey with sanctions over its decision to press ahead with deploying the S-400s, and has warned the country against activating them if it wants to buy rival American Patriot batteries and return to joint production of the F-35 stealth warplane. The U.S. fears that the Russian missiles could compromise NATO technology.

Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkey remains open to buying Patriots, the reports said.

“I have told their officials, the Americans, yesterday and I will repeat it, ‘If you give Patriots, we would buy Patriots from you,” he said.

U.S. Looking for Ways Around Missile Feud to Aid Turkey in Syria

Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest military, denies it is walking away from the alliance. But its row with the U.S. over the missile defense is escalating. Congress is pushing for sanctions against Ankara over the objection of President Donald Trump, who says such a move could drive Turkey closer to Moscow.

Trump has so far refrained from using a piece of legislation that allows the U.S. president to slap sanctions on any country that makes a sizable arms purchase from Russia. But a Senate committee recently approved a bill that would enforce the legislation, which could freeze Turkish assets in the U.S., restrict visas and limit access to credit.

The last time the U.S. sanctioned Turkey, to pressure it to release a detained U.S. pastor, the lira crashed and sent the Turkish economy into a recession from which it is still recovering.