Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Turkey's recent purchase of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia and new emerging diplomatic ties with different countries across the world does not signal a shift.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano yesterday, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said Turkey has no plans to switch directions. Asserting that Turkey has the right to follow a multi-faceted foreign policy, he said: "Turkey is not shifting anywhere. It is staying where it is."Commenting on the criticism toward Turkey's purchase of the missile defense systems from Russia, which led to speculations that it is drifting away from NATO, Çavuşoğlu said: "Turkey is one of the strongest NATO missions. We will continue to work with NATO. Like the last crisis, the secretary general of NATO has emphasized the importance of Turkey for NATO."

The foreign minister stressed that Turkey just wants to secure its airspace. "We want to protect our airspace in Turkey. We prioritize NATO members according to our needs, including the air defense system that we need to protect our airspace. But recently, our NATO allies have refused to meet our defense system needs," Çavuşoğlu said.

While underlining that Turkey then has to buy the systems from an alternate source, Çavuşoğlu said a country's defense needs should not be used by some NATO allies as leverage. "We absolutely must buy it from elsewhere. It is an urgent need. We either produce it ourselves or buy it from a country that will provide it. Other countries should not use it as a political instrument."

Turkey and Russia signed a contract for the purchase of two S-400 missile defense systems, one of which will be optional, with the first system's delivery planned for 2019, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Wednesday.

Turkey completed the purchase of the S-400 air-defense system from Russia, with the Russian side confirming that a down payment has already been made. The U.S. was one of the countries to voice concern regarding the deal. Speaking to Defense News, Heidi Grant, the deputy undersecretary of the U.S. air force, international affairs, said the U.S might consider additional action over Turkey's ability to purchase and operate F-35 jets due to the S-400 purchase.

"It's a significant concern, not only to the United States, because we need to protect this high-end technology, fifth-generation technology" but for "all of our partners and allies that have already purchased the F-35," she said last week.

As a NATO-member country, Turkey's decision to buy Russian S-400 systems has raised concerns among other NATO member countries, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ended speculations on Sep. 19 when he said member states have the sovereign right to make decisions regarding their military purchases.

Recently, a crisis broke out between Turkey and NATO after it was discovered that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, were portrayed as enemies in a NATO drill in Norway. A Norwegian was removed from the exercise following the incident, while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen issued an apology for the chart listing President Erdoğan and Atatürk as "enemies" during the drill.

Also commenting on the recent strained ties between Ankara and Brussels, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey is willing to ease the tension. "The tension with the EU is temporary. We are making every effort to reduce the strain," he said, adding that his recent meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel is an example of these efforts.

Çavuşoğlu underscored that other EU member states should also take similar steps to de-escalate the situation between the two sides.