Turkey flirts with buying even more Russian missile systems
Turkey seems to be offering a compromise to the United States to avoid sanctions for Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 fighter jets — even as Turkey is in talks to buy more.
Russia and Turkey have both confirmed they are considering a new deal for Ankara to purchase more S-400 missile systems despite the threat of US sanctions, a Russian news agency reports. However, Turkey appears to be offering a compromise to the United States.
Alexander Mikheev, director general of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, said Nov. 26 that Moscow hopes to seal a new deal on the sale of S-400 missile systems to Turkey in the first half of next year. Rosoboronexport is currently under sanctions by the United States for selling weapons to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
“We hope that in the first half of 2020 we will sign the contract documents,” Mikheev said, as cited by RIA News.
He added, “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.”
