Russia is ready to expand cooperation with Turkey to supply aircraft and helicopters, Denis Gizunov, head of Rosoboronexport's delegation, told TASS on Wednesday at the international defense industry exhibition IDEF'21 in Istanbul.
"We have certain consultations with Turkey regarding their TF-X program (program to create the newest Turkish 5th generation fighter - TASS) in order to render assistance to the Turkish side. Moreover, we are ready for a broader dialogue. Undoubtedly, the Su-35 is a potential product for promoting them to Turkey, but the Turkish side has not decided yet which aircraft to attach to the cooperation program. But we are ready for such a development of cooperation. In any case, the promotion of not only air defense equipment, but also, naturally, the airplane and helicopter products is additional for the Turkish direction," the interlocutor said.
Meanwhile, in March this year, Valeria Reshetnikova, spokesperson of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) stated that Russia was ready to negotiate with Turkey for the possible supply of Su-35 and Su-57 fighters in case of a corresponding request.
Discussions about Turkey's possible purchase of Russian fighter jets intensified after President Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Moscow in August 2019. During his visit to the MAKS-2019 air show with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, he showed interest in the combat aircraft of the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Afterwards, Erdogan said he did not rule out buying the Su-35 and Su-57 instead of the US F-35.
S-400 deliveries
Gizunov also noted that Russia is ready to sell Turkey S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) as well as equipment to protect them.
"We continue to work with Turkish partners (on the issue of supplying the second set of S-400s to Turkey - TASS), there are certain issues that need to be completed. The Turkish side is interested in signing a contract for the second regimental set. By and large, this is also a priority for our Turkish colleagues. We are continuing not only negotiations on S-400, but we have other projects, including the equipment that protects them," he added.
The IDEF'21 exhibition opened on Tuesday at the TUYAP exhibition center in Istanbul and will run until August 20. The exhibition is organized by Turkey's Ministry of National Defense under the auspices of the Turkish presidential administration and is being held in Turkey's largest metropolis for the 15th time. Leading defense concerns take part in it, including a number of Russian companies (Rosoboronexport, a part of Rostec), Kalashnikov group of companies and Almaz-Antey.
Exhibition organizers told TASS that TUYAP will present a wide range of products of 1,236 defense companies from 53 countries, including 536 Turkish companies. The participation of 154 delegations from 79 countries is planned. A number of contracts are expected to be signed at the end of the exhibition, as well as presentations of new products.
The work of the united Russian stand at IDEF'21 was prepared with the participation of the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Turkey.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS