Russia hopes to agree new S-400 missile deal with Turkey next year
Russia hopes to seal a deal to supply Turkey with more S-400 missile systems in the first half of next year, the head of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, said in an interview with RIA news agency published on Tuesday.
Such a move could further sour ties between Turkey and the United States, which has suspended Ankara from the F-35 stealth fighter jet programme, in which it was a producer and buyer, to punish it for buying S-400 batteries earlier this year, Reuters reports.
Washington has also warned of possible U.S. sanctions, saying the missiles are not compatible with NATO defenses, but has not yet imposed them. A senior U.S. State Department official said last week that Turkey needed to get rid of the S-400s it had already bought to mend fences.
But Mikheev said in an interview with RIA that Moscow and Ankara were actively discussing Ankara taking up an option that was part of the original contract for it to take delivery of more S-400 systems with talks focused on financial questions.
“We hope that in the first half of 2020 we will sign the contract documents,” RIA cited Mikheev as saying. “But I want to stress that military technical cooperation with Turkey is not limited to the supply of the S-400s. We have big plans ahead.”
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told members of his AK party in parliament that the country planned to have its own, locally-made jet fighter ready in 5-6 years.
He was earlier cited as saying Turkish and U.S. officials would conduct efforts until April to sort out the dispute between the NATO allies over the S-400 missile defense system.
“There is a process that is ongoing until April. Our defense and foreign ministers will carry out these efforts. We need to see where we get with these efforts,” broadcaster NTV reported him as saying when asked how they would resolve the row.
After the delivery of S-400 parts to Turkey began in July, Erdogan said that the system would be fully deployed by April 2020.
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