Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 16
By – Trend:
Turkey is against threats regarding the purchase of Russian S-400 Triumph air defense systems, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint press-conference with the US State Secretary Rex Tillerson on Feb. 16.
"We do not use and do not accept threats. We have to guarantee our security. We'd like to acquire means for that from our allies, but they always have some problems. We talked not with Russia only, but with other countries as well. We finished negotiations and signed an agreement with Russia long before the congress," Cavusoglu said.
Turkey is interested not only in the purchase of the system, but also in the technology sharing, Cavusoglu said.
"Ankara signed a preliminary agreement with French-Italian Eurosam concern on development and supply of air defense systems. Spanish and Italian Patriot surface-to-air missile system batteries are also located in Turkey," he added.
The S-400 Triumf is the most advanced long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range ones, and can also be used against ground objectives. The S-400 complex can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km.
On Dec. 29, Turkey signed a loan agreement with Russia to purchase the S-400 Triumph air defense systems. The total purchase price was $2.5 billion and the first supplies are scheduled for late 2019-early 2020.