Russia, Turkey consider terms of loan to purchase S-400
By Kamila Aliyeva
Russia and Turkey are discussing terms of a loan for the acquisition of Russian S-400 air missile defense system, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally interested in supplying Turkey with the S-400 air defense system, local media reported on September 12 citing the Turkish leader.
"Turkey has every right to ensure its own security," he said.
The S-400 is Russia's next-generation air defense system, carrying three different types of missiles capable of destroying aerial targets at a short-to-extremely-long range. The weapon is capable of tracking and destroying all existing aerial targets, including ballistics and cruise missiles.
Reportedly in July 2017, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia to purchase the latter's most sophisticated missile-defense system, the S-400. Under the $2.5 billion agreement Ankara would receive two batteries of the antiaircraft missile from Moscow within the coming year and then produce two more batteries in Turkey
Vladimir Putin earlier stated the issue of production localization in Turkey will depend on the readiness of the industry of this country.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Presidential Aide on military cooperation Vladimir Kozhin confirmed that Russia and Turkey have signed a contract for the supply of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.
“As you know, the S-400 is one of the most complicated systems, consisting of a whole set of technical means, thus there are many nuances here. I can only guarantee that all the decisions taken on this contract strictly correspond to our strategic interests. In this regard, we are quite aware of the reaction of some Western countries that are trying to put pressure on Turkey," he said.
Kozhin also noted that there is a real queue for these systems. "These are the countries of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and some CSTO member states. There are a large number of applications as a number of countries show a substantial interest in this system," he explained.
However, according to Kozhin, this is a very expensive technique, so not everyone can afford to buy it.
"The currently available contracts for these systems have fully loaded the enterprises that produce them," he added.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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