Turkey says S-400 deal not to affect purchase of F-35 fighter jets

ANKARA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's deal of Russian S-400 missile defense system will not affect the purchase of the F-35 fighter aircraft from the United States, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Tuesday.

"Turkey has taken part in F-35 projects many years ago, and the delivery will start in the coming years. It is not related to the procurement of S-400," Canikli was quoted by state-run Anadolu Agency as saying.

He refuted the comments that the U.S. is "not positive" on selling F-35 aircraft to Turkey if Ankara buys the S-400 missile systems from Russia.

Last December, Ankara announced that it had concluded an agreement with Moscow for the purchase of two S-400 systems. The first deliveries are scheduled for early 2020.

The S-400 is Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system with a capacity of carrying three types of missiles capable of destroying targets including ballistic and cruise missiles.

Meanwhile, Turkey had completed an order for the first two F-35 jets for the projected fleet of 100 F-35A aircraft in 2014 and plans to deploy the aircraft by 2019. Enditem