Ankara denies new deal with Russia on S-400 air defense system
ANKARA
Ankara has denied the statement by a senior Russian official suggesting that a contract was signed with Türkiye for the second batch of the S-400 air defense systems, reiterating that there is no new development to report on the matter.
“A corresponding agreement has already been signed. Among other things, it will allow for the production of some components of the [S-400] system to be localized,” the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), Dmitry Shugayev, was reported as saying by Russia’s TASS agency late on Aug. 16.
Shugayev also said that the contract with Türkiye was currently being put into practice without detailing. Türkiye and Russia signed a deal for the former’s procurement of the S-400 systems in 2017. The first batch was deployed to Türkiye in mid-2019, sparking a strong reaction from the United States as it expelled Türkiye from the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet program.
Following Shugayev’s remarks, a Turkish official from the Defense Ministry informed the Turkish media that there were no new agreements with Russia and no new development to report on the matter.
The contract Türkiye and Russia signed back in 2017 includes two batches of S-400s, the official recalled, saying, “The technical talks about the delivery of the second batch are underway, and these issues include, but not limited to, the stake of Turkish engineering in the systems and what components will be produced in Türkiye, etc. Therefore, we do not have any concrete developments worth reporting. The process is ongoing, and there are no new agreements.”
Although Türkiye still possesses the first batch of the S-400s, it did not activate it. The U.S. continues to urge Türkiye not to retain these systems and stresses that activating them or buying a second batch will trigger heavier sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Türkiye and the U.S. are nowadays negotiating over the former’s request of purchasing 40 new F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits.
