Russia and Turkey sign loan agreement for delivery of S-400 missile systems
Russia and Turkey have signed an agreement on payment terms for the S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, reported Hurriyet, citing the head of the Turkish Defense Ministry, Nurettin Canikli.
The publication did not disclose the details of the signed agreement. However, the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, said earlier that Ankara would pay 45% of the transaction amount as an advance, while the other 55% would be allocated by Russia as a loan. The total value of the deal is $2.5 billion.
Turkey is acquiring four divisions of the S-400 SAM from Russia despite US criticism. Washington earlier pointed in particular to the incompatibility of Russian complexes with NATO's air defense system.
After signing a contract with Turkey for the delivery of S-400, Vladimir Kozhin, the Russian President's Aide for Military Technical Cooperation (MTC), announced that customers are "lining up" for the system. According to him, countries of Southeast Asia and the Middle East have shown interest in the Russian S-400.