A Turkish defense official quickly cast doubt on reports that Russia and Turkey signed a contract to ship Ankara a second batch of S-400 air defense systems after Russian-state news agency TASS broke the news Tuesday, citing the head of Russia's military cooperation service, Daily Sabah reported.
TASS cited the head of Russia’s military cooperation service, Dmitry Shugayev, as saying, “I want to note that the relevant contract has already been signed. It envisions the localization of production of certain components of the system.”
Turkey’s initial 2020 purchase of the Russian S-400 system angered the United States, a NATO ally, which imposed sanctions on Turkey in retaliation.
A Turkish defense official said on Tuesday there were “no new agreements.”
“The original contract that was signed with Russia for the purchase of S-400s already included two batches. The purchase of a second batch was included in the original plan and the related contract,” the official said.
“Therefore, we do not have any concrete developments worth reporting. The process is ongoing and there are no new agreements.”
Any new defense contract between Russia and Turkey would provoke serious concern from Washington at a time when it is trying to isolate Russia and maintain NATO unity in the face of Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
KI/PR