TEHRAN, Jun 29 -Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says there are no setbacks in an agreement to purchase the advanced S-400 missile defense system from Russia and that the delivery process is ongoing without any delays.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -“As far as I understand, there are no delays in the process of this delivery," Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan's Osaka on Saturday.
"We continue to observe the process of delivery of S-400 systems with regard to our agreement reached in Dushanbe. I would also like to note that joint missile building, including the transfer of technologies, is a priority for our cooperation,” he added, referring to the Tajik capital where the two leaders agreed earlier in the month that Turkey would receive the advanced missile hardware in the first half of July.
During his meeting with Putin, the Turkish president also stressed that “eyes are now on the delivery process” of the missile defense battery.
Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017.
Turkey and the United States have been at loggerheads for months over Ankara’s purchase order for the S-400s, which the US claims are incompatible with NATO systems and the Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 stealth fighters.
Washington has given Ankara until the end of July to abandon its purchase of the Russian missile defense systems or see a deal for the purchase of F-35s from the US canceled.
The US has also warned that Turkish pilots currently training in the US would be expelled should the deal go ahead. Recently, the Pentagon stopped training the pilots over Ankara’s refusal to halt the purchases.
Washington has also threatened to impose sanctions on Ankara if it doesn't drop the deal. Ankara has, however, dismissed Washington’s threat, saying it will not back down.
The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 400 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.
Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish soil.
Erdogan is also due to meet US President Donald Trump in Osaka.
source:presstv
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