Erdogan says a U.S. refusal to give F-35s to Turkey would be 'robbery' - Hurriyet

FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A refusal by the United States to hand over to Turkey the F-35 fighters jets which it has bought would be "robbery", media reports on Thursday cited President Tayyip Erdogan as saying in a dispute over Ankara's purchase of Russian air defences.

U.S. officials have told Reuters the Trump administration still plans to impose sanctions on Turkey and remove it from the F-35 programme if its NATO ally acquires the Russian S-400 missile defence system.