Also says central bank needs to reverse current interest rate policy

Turkey will retaliate against any US sanctions imposed after it takes the delivery of a missile-defense system from Russia, President Erdogan told journalists. The delivery may start in as soon as two weeks.

In the briefing, Erdogan said relations with Trump "are really good" but that "our ties with people working under him are far more different." He plans to discuss the purchase at the G20 this month.

Erdogan also railed against high interest rates, saying "we will come up with a definitive solution in short time because Turkey needs to reverse its current interest rates policy very cautiously."

The lira fell as much as 1.6% on his comments but rebounded to largely unchanged levels.