Russia intends to supply Turkey with additional batch of S-400 air defense systems – Politics
ATHENS, 8 December. / TASS /. Russia intends to supply an additional batch of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to Turkey. This was announced by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov in an interview in English with a Greek TV channel. Antenna (ANT1).
When asked whether Russia is going to supply another batch of S-400 air defense systems, Peskov replied: “We hope so, yes.”
The channel’s correspondent asked Peskov what was Russia’s special interest in providing Turkey with the S-400 air defense system, despite US sanctions. “We all know that the US likes to play this game with sanctions, although we have an understanding that they never achieve their goals. “, – assured”. he.
Peskov gave an interview to the TV channel on the eve of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Sochi. The channel first summarized what would be in the interview, and on Wednesday night in its main news program, it showed the first fragments of it. The full interview will be in the “Special Report” program on Friday evening (Saturday night Moscow time).
Delivery of S-400 to Turkey
Russia and Turkey signed a contract for the supply of S-400 air defense systems by Moscow to Ankara in 2017. Turkey was the first NATO country to acquire these systems from Russia. Ankara’s decision caused a sharply negative reaction from the United States and the Alliance as a whole. Disabled the rejection of the rejection of Turkey’s rejection of the Russian air defense system. Due to the fact that Turkey does not give in to pressure and does not get rid of the S-400, Washington previously excluded Ankara from the American program for the production of fifth-generation F-35 fighter-bombers.
In addition, the United States has long threatened Turkey with the introduction of a number of unilateral sanctions, but was in no hurry to take these steps, because it feared further aggravation of relations with a key NATO ally, and Ankara warned that it would not leave such restrictions unanswered. In December 2020, Washington imposed such sanctions.
In July 2021, the general director of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, told reporters during the MAKS-2021 air show that Rosoboronexport (part of the Rostec state corporation) will prepare a project to supply an additional batch of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to Turkey in the coming months. According to Mikheev, this project is expected to be completed in the coming months. He then noted that “he is carrying out final consultations, a financial model has been formed, a program of technological cooperation in this project has been formed.”