Supply of 2nd Stage of S-400 Parts Begins amid US-Turkey Tensions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkey received the second batch of the Russian S-400 missile defense system on Tuesday, according to the country’s defense ministry.
“Today, deliveries of elements for the second battery of the S-400 air defense missile system have begun. A plane from Russia arrived at Murted Air Base in Ankara Province. The deliveries will continue for a month”, the ministry said on Tuesday, Sputnik reported.
Russia completed the shipment of the first batch of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey in July under a contract that was signed in December 2017.
The US has threatened to impose sanctions against the country and suspended deliveries of F-35 jets to Turkey. Washington has cited the alleged incompatibility of the S-400s with NATO defense systems and their threat to the fifth-generation F-35 jet as the cause of its concern.
Turkey repeatedly dispelled the concerns saying that the purchase of S-400 was Ankara's sovereign affair.
Moscow and Ankara inked a deal on the delivery of four S-400 batteries to Turkey in December 2017. Despite criticism by NATO members, Ankara stressed that the S-400 deal would not affect its strategic relations with the alliance.
