Turkey will retaliate against the U.S. if it takes negative steps against Ankara over the Russian S-400 systems, the country's foreign minister said Wednesday.
In an interview with Turkish broadcaster A Haber, Mevlüt Çavuşoglu also said Turkey was open to alternatives to buying U.S. F-35 jets, including from Russia, after Ankara was suspended from the programme over the S-400 purchase.
"U.S. lawmakers must understand they will get nowhere with impositions. If the United States approaches us positively, we will also react positively. But, if they take negative towards us, then we will retaliate these," Çavuşoğlu said.
U.S. lawmakers will vote - and likely pass - a defence bill later on Wednesday that calls for sanctions against Turkey over Ankara's decision to procure the S-400 defenses.
Amid already strained bilateral ties, Washington has suspended Ankara from the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jet program, in which it was a producer and buyer, to penalise it for buying S-400 batteries this year.
Ankara has also rebuffed suggestions from U.S. leaders that it leave the Russian S-400 system unactivated in order to avoid possible U.S. sanctions.
The S-400 is seen as one of the most advanced missile systems in the world, capable of tracking several targets simultaneously.
Turkey and Britain have agreed to speed up work on a project to build fighter jets, Çavuşoğlu added.
The two countries agreed a 100 million pound ($133 million) deal in 2017 to develop Turkish fighter jets, and Turkey's Kale Group said it was setting up a joint venture with Rolls-Royce to work on the project. In March Rolls-Royce said it had scaled back efforts to join the program.
