The news comes a week after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to ditch the S-400 air defense systems that Ankara has purchased from Russia, stating it is "not right". The politician noted that his country is ready to buy Patriot systems from the US on favorable terms, but dismissed the US demands as meddling in Turkey's sovereign affairs.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that a senior US State Department official has urged the Turkish authorities to stop using Russian air defence systems, suggesting a radical solution to get Ankara back into the F-35 stealth fighter programme.

"There is room for Turkey to come back to the table. They know that to make this work they need to either destroy or return or somehow get rid of the S-400", the official told reporters at a briefing.

Russia and Turkey signed a loan agreement for the supply of S-400 air defense systems in September 2017 that resulted in the US suspending deliveries of F-35 fighter jets to its NATO ally.