Turkey and Russia had reached an agreement on the procurement of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, and the final decision would be made by the executive committee of Turkey’s defense industry, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was quoted as saying on Aug. 25.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight from Vietnam, Yıldırım also said Turkey was working in cooperation with Russia and Iran in Syria, and there should be no reason for the United States and Turkey to be on opposite sides.
“We are talking about two NATO nations, there should be no reason for there to be [problems]. Of course, if they show a stance other than what they have told us on the YPG [Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units] issue, it would be a problem,” Yıldırım was quoted as saying on private broadcaster NTV, as reported by Reuters.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said late in July that Russia and Turkey had made progress in the plans to procure the S-400s and that signatures had been signed.
A contract to supply S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to Turkey is in the final stages, but has not yet been signed or entered into force, the head of Russian defense giant Rosoboronexport told Russian media earlier this week.