Russia is working on supplying the second batch of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey. This was announced by the head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The head of the state corporation told that the delivery of S-400 systems to Turkey was completed ahead of schedule. Chemezov noted that it was the first contract of this scale signed with a NATO country; it is estimated at $2.5 billion.
"We are discussing a possible second delivery now," the Kremlin reports.
Military political scientist, head of the department of political science and sociology of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Andrey Koshkin said on Sputnik radio that Turkey, while remaining a member of NATO, has recently been conducting a fairly independent foreign policy, including in the field of military-technical cooperation.
"This contradiction causes serious dissatisfaction in the White house. And most of all, the 45th US President Donald Trump is unnerved by the fact that Turkey, the second army in NATO, is acquiring high-tech weapons from Russia – the state against which the North Atlantic Alliance was created at the time. And today they continue to feed NATO with all sorts of horror stories about the "aggressiveness" of the Russian Federation. In these circumstances, the US is trying to put pressure on Turkey to avoid cooperation with Russia, but something does not work here, (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan does not cave in," said Andrey Koshkin.
In his opinion, the undoubted superiority of Russian air defense systems over their Western counterparts also plays a role.
"It should be recognized that during the cold war, the Soviet Union as a whole lagged behind the high-tech innovations offered by the United States and its allies in the arms market for a period of about five years. In some ways, of course, the USSR was superior to its rivals, and the arms race was in full swing. But today we are ahead by creating unique high-tech systems. First of all, we would like to focus on systems that protect our territory, in particular, the S-400 Triumf system, which surprised the whole world, "said Andrey Koshkin.
Last year, Russia fulfilled its first contract to supply Turkey with four S-400 divisions. The deal between the two countries caused a crisis in relations between Turkey and the United States. Washington demanded to cancel the contract and instead purchase American Patriot complexes, threatening to cancel the sale of Turkey's newest F-35 fighters, as well as impose sanctions. Ankara refused to make concessions and continued negotiations on an additional batch of S-400s.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said that Russia was ready to conclude a new contract with Turkey for the supply of S-400 complexes. In June, the parties agreed to supply a second set of air defense systems.
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