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Turkey has no intention to abandon S-400 deal, top diplomat says

Earlier, the United States stated that it will exclude Ankara from the F-35 program if Turkey buys the S-400 systems ftom Russia
S-400 missile systems  Sergei Bobylev/TASS
S-400 missile systems
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

ANKARA, June 14. /TASS/. Ankara is committed to purchasing the S-400 missile systems from Russia and has no intention to abandon the deal, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a meeting with the editors of the Anadolu news agency on Friday.

"We are committed to the S-400 deal and have no intention to back down. We had a demand for such systems, which was met with Russia’s assistance," he pointed out.

S-400 deal

News about Russian-Turkish talks on the delivery of the S-400 systems first came in November 2016. In September 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara had signed a contract with Moscow on purchasing the S-400 complexes and made an advance payment. Ankara will begin the deployment of the S-400 systems in October 2019, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.

Putin said at a press conference following talks with Erdogan that Moscow had decided to step up the delivery of the S-400 systems to Ankara. Erdogan, in turn, said on March 9 that Turkey would not abandon plans to purchase the Russian missile systems.

However, the United States continues attempts to stop Turkey from purchasing the Russian missile systems. Washington has stated that it will exclude Ankara from the F-35 program if Turkey buys the S-400 systems.

The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the most advanced long-range anti-aircraft 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 system can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 35 km.