ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. Russian specialists who serviced the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in Turkey are returning home on a routine basis, so this in no way constitutes as expulsion here, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday.
With that in mind, the press secretary commented on media reports that Ankara had allegedly expelled the Russian technicians in question under pressure from Washington.
"All our specialists who were there are returning home according to schedule. They have completed all their work in training Turkish personnel and handing over all key matters. Therefore, it is completely wrong and incorrect to interpret this as some sort of expulsion or something else," Peskov stressed.
The US has had no influence on this situation whatsoever, the Kremlin spokesman affirmed.
"The Americans have been turning up a great deal of heat on Turkey but the Turkish side has been consistently sticking to its guns," Peskov insisted.
Unacceptable demands
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in an interview with CNN Turk television channel on May 28 that the United States had offered Turkey an alternative to purchasing the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. However, the US diplomat did not go into detail on it.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on May 31 that Ankara considered other countries’ calls against using the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems purchased from Russia as unacceptable.
S-400 deal and ensuing pressure
Moscow and Ankara inked a deal in 2017 on the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system to Turkey, thereby making it the first NATO member to purchase this air defense missile system from Russia.
Ankara’s decision to purchase the Russian-made system infuriated the United States and NATO. So far, Washington has not abandoned its efforts to make Turkey give up the Russian air defense system.
Because the Erdogan administration has not caved to US pressure and said that it would not ditch the S-400 system, Washington has excluded Ankara from the US program of developing the fifth-generation F-35 fighter-bomber.
That being said, the US has threatened to impose a series of unilateral sanctions on Turkey for a while now, but has been slow to do so for fear of further antagonizing relations with a key NATO ally. Meanwhile, Ankara has warned that it will not allow such restrictions to go unanswered. Washington slapped its unilateral sanctions on Ankara in December 2020.
Russia’s S-400 ‘Triumf’ (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long-and medium-range surface-to-air missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, and can also be used against ground installations. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of up to 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km under intensive enemy fire and jamming.