Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Thursday said there should be no doubt that Turkey will activate the S-400 missile system it purchased from Russia.
Akar was speaking in an interview with broadcaster CNN Türk, according to Reuters.
Turkey’s procurement of Russian missiles has strained its relations with the Western bloc, especially the United States.
Observers started questioning Ankara’s S-400 purchase after a conflict in Syria’s Idlib region between the Turkish and Russian governments began to escalate.
According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, Turkey has asked Washington for Patriot missile batteries to back its soldiers in northwestern Syria.