Negotiations on S-400 systems ongoing, despite contract
The S-400 missile defense system is still a bone of contention in Turkish–Russian relations.
Statements from Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu last week sparked another discussion when he said if no technology transfer from Russia is made within the agreement on the S-400 system, the agreement could be canceled.
Following these statements, Russian daily Kommersant published a story on this matter. According to unnamed sources, the Turkish minister’s statements were part of a “political game” further reporting that a “serious contract” had been signed between Turkey and Russia, which could not be canceled so easily.
The sources also claim that Russia was very reluctant to transfer the technology of S-400 systems to NATO member Turkey, as this could potentially mean that these technologies could be leaked to other Western NATO states.
Another Russian daily, Izvestiya, also published a story on the topic, where experts commented that Turkey was asserting pressure to achieve an advantage over Russia on the S-400 contract and suggested that Russia should not “give in” to such pressure.
It is yet to be decided what terms the S-400 contract will be based on, as it seems negotiations are still ongoing, despite the contract having already been signed.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has become the next country to purchase the same system from Russia. Maria Vorobyeva, representative of the Russian Military-Technical Cooperation Council announced last week that Moscow and Riyadh agreed on the purchase of the S-400 system.