BRUSSELS, September 13. /TASS/. Turkey did not inform NATO about the details of the S-400 deal with Russia, a NATO official told TASS on Wednesday.
"It is up to Allies to decide what military equipment they buy. What matters for NATO is that the equipment Allies acquire is able to operate together. Interoperability of our armed forces is fundamental to NATO for the conduct of our operations and missions. No NATO ally currently operates the S-400. NATO has not been informed about the details of any purchase," the official said commenting on Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400 missile defense systems from Russia.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara had signed the agreement to purchase the S-400 systems from Moscow, and a deposit had been paid. Russian Presidential Aide for Military Cooperation Vladimir Kozhin, in turn, confirmed to TASS that Russia and Turkey had signed a contract on the delivery of the S-400 systems and were getting ready to implement it.
The S-400 Triumf is the most advanced long-range antiaircraft 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 complex can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km. In April, Russian Aerospace Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief Viktor Gumenny said that the S-400 system missiles, able to destroy targets in near space, had entered service.