Turkey has begun receiving the second batch of Russian-made S-400 air defence systems, the Turkish Defence Ministry confirmed in a statement.
“Today, deliveries of elements for the second battery of the S-400 air defence 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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that a regular batch of Russian S-400 air defense missile systems had been supplied under a contract with Ankara on Tuesday morning.
“Today, by the way, another delivery took place in the morning”, Putin told Erdogan who accompanied him.
Russia completed the shipment of the first batch of S-400 air defence systems to Turkey in July under a contract that was signed in December 2017.
The US initially pressured Ankara to scrap the deal, but Turkey rejected the American calls.
US-Turkey Standoff
The US 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 defence 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.