Trump said no US sanctions over S-400: Erdoğan

ISTANBUL

U.S. President Donald Trump said there will be no U.S. sanctions imposed on Turkey over its decision to purchase Russian missile defense systems, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 29, hours after the two leaders held bilateral talks.

Erdoğan said at a news conference at the G20 summit in Japan that Turkey expected the delivery of F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States, despite the dispute over the S-400 deal.

He added that the Russian systems would be delivered in the first half of July. 

"We have heard from him personally that this would not happen," Erdoğan said. "We are strategic partners with the United States. As strategic partners, nobody has the right to meddle in Turkey's sovereign rights. Everyone should know this," he said.

"We have a payment so far of $1.4 billion to the United States," Erdoğan said. "As joint producers, until now four F-35 jets have been delivered to us, but we will still receive... a total of 116 jets. We are expecting these," he added.

"What some people in lower ranks are saying absolutely do not align with Mr Trump's approach. I believe these will not harm our bilateral ties, and that is the commitment we are going on with."

Khashoggi murder

He also called on the international community to prioritize bringing perpetrators of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to justice and do not allow this topic to be out of their agenda.

“Bringing perpetrators of Khashoggi murder, from top to bottom level, to justice is the primary task of the international community,” Erdoğan said at his speech, calling on the world countries to keep slain journalist’s death at the global agenda.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 last year.

Riyadh offered various, conflicting narratives to explain his disappearance before acknowledging he was murdered in the diplomatic building while seeking to shift blame for his death on a botched rendition operation being carried out by rogue agents.

Khashoggi's body has not been recovered, and the Kingdom has remained silent on its whereabouts. In her report, U.N. Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard said the murder of Jamal Khashoggi "constituted an extrajudicial killing" for which "Saudi Arabia is responsible."

Refugee crisis

President Erdoğan said he told his counterparts about the “sacrifices” Turkey has made since 2011 when the Syrian civil war erupted, prompting influx of millions of refugees into Turkey.

“Since 2011, we have opened our door to over four million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians who fled the clashes,” Erdoğan said, adding regional countries were the only ones taking the responsibility of irregular migrants.

Erdoğan said Turkey, according to the U.N. calculations, have spent over $37 billion whereas the international organizations have allocated some $2 billion dollars.

The U.N. Refugee Agency provided a total of a billion dollar for the refugees in Turkey, he added.H

e said the developed Western countries who lecture others about human rights have failed at humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict.

“As long as conscious-based policies are not preferred over prejudices against refugees, more toddlers will die in the sea,” he said, referring to Aylan Kurdi- a three-year-old Syrian toddler, who drowned on a Turkish coast in 2015 while trying to cross to Europe.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

President Erdoğan thanked Japan for hosting such a "successful" event and underlined that G20 summit was "meaningful" in the sense of discussing various topics with different state actors.

Erdoğan held talks with a number of leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The G20 Leaders’ Summit, followed by more than 2,000 journalists from around the world, is being attended by 30,000 people, including 19 leaders and delegates from the European Union.