Turkey objects to the clause banning the supply of the Russian S-400 missile and anti-aircraft system (SAM) to third countries. Because of this, the delivery of the second batch of this complex from Russia to Turkey is delayed. This was reported by the Turkish newspaper Aydinlik with reference to informed sources.
The newspaper recalls that in 2017 a contract was signed for the supply of two batches of air defense systems. According to the document, the first batch was supposed to arrive in Turkey as a direct purchase, the second – to meet the requirements for technology exchange, joint production and software integration.
According to the publication, the second phase of the contract was postponed after Ankara opposed the ban on the sale of S-400s to other countries prescribed in the contract. The newspaper notes that similar bans are used in the defense industry around the world.
In 2017, Russia and Turkey signed an agreement for the supply of S-400 air defense systems, the deal amounted to $ 2.5 billion with an option to purchase another regiment. The first S-400 regiment was delivered to Turkey in the summer and autumn of 2019. In response to the conclusion of the contract, the United States imposed sanctions against Turkey and excluded it from the program for the production of the F-35 fighter.
In the spring of 2022, the media reported that the United States was persuading the Turkish authorities to transfer the S-400 to Kyiv in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and the return of Ankara to the F-35 production program. In Turkey, they said that they would not abandon Russian air defense systems under pressure from the United States. The head of the Turkish defense company Aselsan Haluk Gorgun also said that Turkey is working on its own air defense system.
