ANKARA, February 23. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Wednesday that Ankara was ready to employ S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems purchased from Russia, if the republic was attacked.

"The answer to the question about where they will be used is crystal clear. Whoever may attack our country with missiles, they [S-400 systems] will be used. They also say that the S-400s are located in a hangar. They are located where necessary," Erdogan told Turkish journalists aboard his airliner returning from Senegal.

The Turkish leader already stated in July 2019 that Turkey intended to employ the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, if the country was attacked.

Moscow and Ankara inked a deal in 2017 on the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to Turkey, thereby making it the first NATO member to purchase this air defense weapon from Russia.

Ankara’s decision to purchase the Russian-made system infuriated the United States and NATO. So far, Washington has not abandoned its efforts to make Turkey give up the Russian air defense system.

Turkey has not caved to US pressure and has said that it will keep the S-400 system. Washington has responded by excluding Ankara from the US program of developing the fifth-generation F-35 fighter-bomber.

The United States had also been threatening Turkey with unilateral sanctions for long over the purchase of the S-400 air defense system but was in no hurry to take these steps out of fear of further worsening relations with a major NATO ally, while Ankara warned it would not leave the imposition of these restrictions unanswered. Washington imposed its unilateral sanctions on Ankara in December 2020.