Speaking to reporters at a joint press conference with his Rwandan counterpart Richard Sezibera, Cavusoglu said it was "out of the question" for Turkey to walk away from the S-400s as Ankara is already discussing the delivery dates of the missile systems.
"Turkey urgently needs air defense. We cannot say 'NATO should protect us' if there is an attack because, let's be honest, NATO can only protect 30% Turkish airspace. It was the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands that pulled out Patriots when we needed them the most," Cavusoglu said.
Regarding Washington's decision to expel Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, Cavusoglu said other partners of the program were unhappy with the move.
"All decisions should be made with a consensus. Turkey is a partner of the F-35 program and has significant contributions. We contributed more than $1 billion to the program. These sorts of decisions made by the US are against the partnership deal. Other partners of the program are unhappy with this move too," he said.
The minister said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump confirmed with each other to meet on the sidelines of G-20 in Japan to discuss the issue of the S-400s, as well as other topics including developments in Syria.
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