Erdogan says Turkey, France and Italy will take steps on missile defence

ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would take “positive steps” with France and Italy on the SAMP-T missile defence system developed by the Franco-Italian EUROSAM consortium.

Ankara, which has incurred U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence batteries, has also discussed in recent years acquiring or developing a system based on the SAMP-T, but has so far made little apparent progress.

Erdogan was speaking to reporters following the G20 summit in Rome, where he met with Italiam Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron.