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US no longer objects to use of S-400 air defense systems by Turkey, Defense Minister says

According to the Pentagon, these missile air defense systems could help revealing certain specifications of jet fighters and thus negatively affect their combat capabilities

ANKARA, November 26. /TASS/. The United States no longer have any objections regarding the use of S-400 missile air defense systems purchased from Russia, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said.

"During our recent meetings [with the Americans] we rejected what they wanted from us in the context of the S-400. Now, the Americans have no objections in this regard. An order is the only thing that is necessary to send these systems to [their designated] regions. It would take about 12 hours to deploy the system to a condition when we are able to use it," the minister said, according to T24.

Turkey was excluded from the F-35 development program after it bought an S-400 regiment kit from Russia in 2019. According to the Pentagon, these missile air defense systems could help revealing certain specifications of jet fighters and thus negatively affect their combat capabilities.

Some Turkish media outlets reported earlier that Ankara could return to the program if it refrains from activating the S-400s or hands them over to a third side. Former US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake also voiced a similar idea. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeatedly pointed out that the end user certificate, which is a part of the arms sale contract, does not authorize Turkey to sell the purchased S-400s without Moscow’s consent.