Turkish Ambassador to the US Serdar Kilic has dismissed allegations that Ankara used the S-400 air defence systems bought from Russia in order to detect Greek F-16s in the Mediterranean Sea as they were returning from drills taking place in France, Italy, and Cyprus at the end of August 2020. This reported by Sputnik.

"That is out of the question. Even if [the S-400s] were tested, we, as a member of NATO, would coordinate such action through the alliance's military channels", Kilic said, while giving a speech at a conference organised by the non-profit organisation World Affairs Council.

The envoy once again reminded that Turkey has the right to self-defence and hence had the right to buy air defence systems from Russia, after Washington stalled the sale of Patriots for over three years. Kilic added that Turkey's security concerns were linked to the spread of what he called "mass destruction weapons", without delving into any details.