Trump: Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 system creates ‘serious challenges’
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that his country’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system was a “very serious challenge” for the United States but that he hoped the NATO allies would be able to resolve that dispute.
After a much anticipated meeting at the White House to address a crisis in relations, Trump said he was “a great fan” of the Turkish leader and that they had a “wonderful and productive” encounter.
They did not, however, reveal any major breakthrough on mounting differences, from Syria to the Russian system known as S-400.
Trump’s warm welcome for Erdogan, however, was a sharp contrast to anger in the US Congress over Ankara’s offensive into Syria to drive out a Kurdish militia, Washington’s main partner in the fight against ISIS