Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday Ankara had not yet decided which missile defence system it would buy and it was open to new bids besides the current Chinese favourite if these guaranteed joint production.

Nato member Turkey’s decision last September to choose a $3.4 billion offer from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp irked Ankara’s Western allies as the Chinese company is under US sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

US and Nato officials also voiced concerns that a Chinese product would not be compatible with other Nato systems.

“Turkey did not decide yet which system should be bought.. for us three criteria are important – joint production, the time of delivery and price,” Davutoglu said.

The deal would mark a breakthrough for China in its bid to become a supplier of advanced weapons. But Davutoglu said he had held a meeting with a US company a day earlier.

“The Chinese company was the first because they offered us joint production. Joint production was important for us,” he said.

Rival offers from Franco-Italian Eurosam SAMP/T and US-listed Raytheon Co RTN.N, the maker of Patriot missiles, were also in the running, he said.