Trump to confront Turkey's Erdogan for buying Russian defense system

New York: President Donald Trump will confront Turkey's leader about his decision to buy a Russian air defence system when they meet this week at the White House amid strained relations between the two NATO allies.

Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, said Sunday that the United States was still "very upset" by the move to purchase the Russian S-400 system. The US said the system was not compatible with NATO forces and could compromise the F-35 fighter jet program and aid Russian intelligence.

The Trump administration removed Turkey from the F-35 program in July. O'Brien told CBS' "Face the Nation" that if Turkey doesn't get rid of the Russian system, Turkey will likely face US sanctions backed by a bipartisan majority in Congress.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday. Trump and Erdogan had planned a joint news conference Wednesday afternoon.

"There's no place in NATO for the S-400," O'Brien said.

"There's no place in NATO for significant Russian military purchases. That's a message that the president will deliver to him very clearly when he's here in Washington." O'Brien said, however, that the US will do everything it can to keep Turkey in NATO.

Turkey has been roundly criticized for its incursion into northern Syria to attack Kurdish forces that were fighting with the US against Islamic State militants. Trump has been denounced for removing US forces from the area before the incursion, but O'Brien said the administration did not pave the way for Erdogan's offensive into Syria.