U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he does not blame Turkey for buying a Russian missile defense system, which prompted his administration to remove the NATO ally from the F-35 fighter jet program.
Trump, who was speaking to reporters at the White House, did not say when he would decide on imposing sanctions on Turkey for doing business with the Russian military, as required by a 2017 U.S. sanctions law.
The comments are the latest expressing the president's reluctance to impose penalties on Turkey for acquiring the S-400.
He did so last week when announcing Ankara's removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Turkey's expulsion is slated to be completed by the end of March 2020.
Trump is further considering how to proceed with a law mandating sanctions for entities that conduct business with Russian defense firms.
The president signed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act into law in 2017. But he reportedly told Republican senators during a closed-door White House meeting Tuesday that he is not in favor of implementing the penalties on Turkey.
Democrats were not invited to the meeting, but several Republicans who were present reportedly did not agree with the president's position. They insist he must impose the penalties stipulated by the law.
Trump blames the Obama administration for the current row over its refusal to ink a deal with Turkey to sell it Raytheon's Patriot Missile systems.
