The United States continues to condition the supply of the Patriot air defence systems to Turkey on returning the already purchased S-400 systems back to Russia, US Defense Department spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a briefing on Tuesday, Trend reports citing Sputnik.
"Turkey is not going to receive a Patriot battery unless it returns the S-400," Hoffman told reporters.
Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States has softened its stance on Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence systems and reduced its demands to asking Ankara not to put the weapon on active service.