NEW YORK, December 5. /TASS/. Turkey no longer uses Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems and is close to abandoning them, paving the way for Ankara’s purchase of American F-35 fighter jets, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said, according to Bloomberg.

At a conference in Abu Dhabi, he said he was confident that these issues would be resolved within the next four to six months.

When asked if Ankara plans to abandon the Russian systems, the diplomat replied with one word: "Yes." He claimed that Turkey no longer uses the Russian air defense systems, but still owns them, which causes problems in its dialogue with the United States.

Bloomberg reported in October that Turkey does not intend to abandon the S-400s and is ready to compromise with the American administration. According to the agency's sources, Ankara was ready to create a joint military mechanism to control the use of the S-400s.

In 2017, Turkey acquired four divisions of S-400 air defense systems from Russia in a $2.5 billion deal. In October 2019, Rosoboronexport weapons exporter said the systems had been delivered. After signing a contract with Russia for the supply of a regimental set of S-400, Ankara was excluded from a US program to create a new generation of F-35 fighters. At that time, the White House claimed that American fighter jets and Russian air defense systems cannot coexist in the same airspace.