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Baku, Azerbaijan, June 14
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
NATO is not able to defend Turkey, and therefore Ankara buys Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, Trend reports via Turkish media.
The foreign minister noted that the Russian S-400 air defense systems that Turkey has acquired, do not pose a threat to NATO.
He said that Turkey has repeatedly declared this to the allies in the NATO.
The minister also noted that Turkey is in dire need of protecting its airspace, and for this, the country buys the Russian S-400, since the US refused to sell US air defense systems to the Turkish army.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey may receive the S-400 missile systems in July 2019, which is earlier than scheduled. He stressed that despite appeals from the US, Turkey will not abandon the purchase of the S-400.
Initial reports of negotiations between Russia and Turkey on the supply of S-400 appeared in November 2016. The signing of a contract was confirmed by the Russian side on September 12, 2017.
Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that the S-400 air defense systems would be deployed from October 2019.
Turkey is the first NATO member state to receive the S-400 air defense systems from Russia.
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