(Bloomberg) -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Turkey could shut down two of the most critical NATO installations on its territory if the U.S. imposes sanctions over its purchase of an advanced Russian missile-defense system.

“If it is necessary to shut it down, we would shut down Incirlik,” Erdogan told AHaber television on Sunday. “If it is necessary to shut it down, we would shut down Kurecik, too.”

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It’s the clearest sign yet that the standoff with the U.S. risks spreading and further damaging Turkey’s relations with the western alliance.

An early-warning radar at Kurecik is a critical part of NATO’s ballistic-missile defense capabilities. Incirlik Air Base, close to Syria, is used by the Pentagon to store tactical nuclear weapons and conduct strikes against Islamic State. Decades earlier, it was the main operating location for the American U-2 spy plane -- until American pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.

Turkey is pushing ahead with the Russian deal and also plans to sign an agreement with Moscow to jointly produce the S-400 missiles even as the purchase strains ties with NATO and increases the risk of U.S. sanctions that could plunge Turkey into renewed economic turmoil.

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“If they put measures such as sanctions in force, then we would respond based on reciprocity,” Erdogan said. “It is very important for both sides that the U.S. should not take irreparable steps in our relations.”

The accord with Moscow highlights both Turkey’s aspirations for an increasingly independent role in regional policies and the mutual erosion of trust with Washington.

Over the weekend, Turkey decided to deploy drones in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state, raising the stakes in a growing dispute over energy in the eastern Mediterranean. Erdogan also met Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj after expressing readiness to deploy Turkish troops in the North African country, if asked. Erdogan’s government also submitted a separate military cooperation deal with Libya to parliament for approval.

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Turkey’s assertiveness as a regional power makes it less willing to compromise in its dispute with its chief NATO ally. The U.S. has warned that Turkey could face expulsion from Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 program and also face sanctions under two pieces of legislation that allow punishment of entities doing business with parts of the Russian state.

Turkey took delivery of one S-400 missile-defense battery, which has advanced radars and isn’t compatible with NATO technology. The system is expected to be ready for use by April. Its deployment would mark a further advance in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to engineer a bigger role in the Middle East.

Chief among U.S. concerns is that the Russian system could be used to collect intelligence on the stealth capabilities of the F-35 fighter jet that Turkey wanted to buy and has helped to build.

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Erdogan also warned the U.S. against recognizing as “genocide” the mass killing of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire a century ago. He said Turkey’s parliament could investigate whether the U.S. carried out a policy of systematic genocide of native Americans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Taylan Bilgic, Paul Abelsky

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