MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan may discuss the deliveries of Russia’s advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to the Turkish side at their meeting in Sochi on May 3, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"It [the issue of S-400 deliveries] may [be discussed at the meeting of both leaders]," the Kremlin spokesman said in reply to a TASS question.
Turkish Defense Minister Firki Isik said that Erdogan expected to discuss the parameters of a contract on the purchase of S-400 air defense systems during his meeting with Russian leader Putin in Sochi on May 3.
"I presume that following negotiations between Erdogan and Putin, a joint decision will be made on forthcoming steps towards the acquisition of the Russian antiaircraft missile systems," the Anadolu news agency quoted the minister as saying.
The Turkish defense minister earlier said that "the work on the S-400 has reached a final stage but this does not mean that an agreement will be signed tomorrow."
It emerged in November last year that Russia and Turkey were negotiating the deliveries of S-400 air defense missile systems and in March this year Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov said that Ankara had expressed its desire to obtain a loan from Russia on buying armaments, including antiaircraft missile complexes of this type.
Chemezov said in February that Turkey was displaying interest in the S-400 systems and the sides were in talks on possible deliveries.