Turkey, Russia sign deal on supply of S-400 missiles
Turkey and Russia have signed an accord for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 surface-to-air missiles, Reuters reported citing CNN Turk and other media, finalizing a deal the two countries have been working on for more than a year.
The S-400 deal, reportedly worth about $2.5 billion, has caused concern in the West because Turkey is a member of NATO and the system cannot be integrated into NATO’s military architecture.
No details of the accord were available and officials were not immediately available to comment. But Sergei Chemezov, head of the Russian state conglomerate Rostec, told the Kommersant daily on Wednesday Russia would supply Turkey with four batteries of S-400s under the deal.
He said Moscow was expected to begin the first deliveries in March 2020 and that Turkey was the first NATO member state to acquire the advanced S-400 missile system.
Earlier on Friday, Turkish newspapers cited President Tayyip Erdogan as saying Turkey would borrow in the Russian currency in a loan deal under the accord.
“We will not borrow in dollars in this loan, we will borrow in roubles,” Hurriyet newspaper quoted Erdogan as telling reporters on his plane, returning from a trip to Africa.
According to Chemezov, Turkey would pay 45 percent of the cost of the agreement up front, with Russia providing loans to cover the remaining 55 percent.
The Russian Finance Ministry will finance a deal from the state treasury, while Russian banks will take part solely in the transfer of funds in the deal, a Russian banking source said.
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