Turkey signs deal to buy Russian S-400 missiles

ISTANBUL: Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S400 missile defence systems in its first major weapons purchase from Moscow, Turkish newspapers quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.

The accord for the surfacetoair missile defence batteries is also Ankara’s most significant deal with a nonNATO supplier.

“Signatures have been made for the purchase of S400s from Russia. A deposit has also been paid as far as I know,” Erdogan said in comments published in the Hurriyet daily and other newspapers.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and myself are determined on this issue.”

The purchase of the missile systems from a nonNATO supplier will raise concerns in the West over their technical compatibility with the alliance’s equipment.

The Pentagon has already sounded the alarm, saying bluntly that “generally it’s a good idea” for NATO allies to buy interoperable equipment.

Erdogan said Turkey was free to make military acquisitions based on its defence needs.

“Nobody has the right to discuss the Turkish republic’s independence principles or independent decisions about its defence industry,” he said in the comments published on Tuesday. — AFP