- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Strategic Synergy: 'Moscow and Ankara to Benefit' From New Defense Project

© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev / Go to the mediabankPresidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) of Turkey attending the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul, October 10, 2016
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) of Turkey attending the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul, October 10, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Both Russia and Turkey could benefit from cooperating to establish a joint missile defense system, military expert Alexander Mikhailov told Sputnik.

Men ride motorbikes past a Turkish armored carrier in the northern Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, October 5, 2016 - Sputnik International
World
'Important Partner': Turkey Takes Out Terrorists in Syria With Russia's Support
In an interview with Sputnik, military expert Alexander Mikhailov, a member of Russia's Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, suggested that both Ankara and Moscow could gain from collaborating to create a joint missile defense system.

The interview came after Turkey's Undersecretary for Defense Industries Ismail Demir said that Ankara is ready to discuss the possibility of cooperating to develop a national missile defense system with all countries concerned, including Russia.

In 2009, Turkey announced a 4 billion USD tender for the procurement of components for a missile defense system.

In 2013, the Chinese company CPMIEC, which submitted a bid of $3.4 billion, won the tender, but a range of disputes subsequently occurred between Turkey and China.

In November last year, Turkey officially cancelled the tender and decided to develop a national missile defense project instead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hand with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a press conference on October 10, 2016 in Istanbul - Sputnik International
Turkey Seeks Cooperation With 'Friendly' and 'Reliable' Russia, Rather Than West
Alexander Mikhailov noted that if a Russia-Turkey missile shield is built, each side could benefit.

According to him, "getting more sophisticated weaponry for the development of a more reliable missile defense system is of great importance to Turkey."

"As a result, Russia is also interested in this development because it will be followed by military orders, arms supplies and its maintenance — a very important point. If the joint missile shield is built, we will benefit from it, given that we are interested in protecting our southern borders," Mikhailov said.

At the same time, he said that it is still unclear how the relations between the two countries will develop in terms of missile defense. In any case, it is safe to assume that Turkey is starting to realize who is who, according to Mikhailov.

"The economic factor that was linked to Russia blocking Turkish goods and tourism has led to Turkey to realize the fact that unlike America, Russia is near, and that it is necessary to develop friendly relations with Moscow," he said.

June 7, 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a concert devoted to the 25th anniversary of the restoration of Russian-Israeli diplomatic relations in the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow. - Sputnik International
Shifting Goalposts: US' Allies Turkey, Israel Boosting Energy Ties With Russia
On October 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed defense industry cooperation in Istanbul.
Shortly afterward, Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that Moscow and Ankara had allegedly agreed to work out the details of a possible project to implement the Turkish national missile defense system project.

However, the Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 11 that the issue of creating a joint missile defense system between Turkey and Russia was not discussed during the high-level talks.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала