Turkey Buys 4 Russian S-400 Systems, Russian Loans to Cover 55% of Costs

The Russian Rostec Corporation said that the deliveries of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey will start in March 2020, with 45 percent of the contracted sum to be paid in advance by Ankara.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkey purchased four Russian S-400 air defense systems worth $2.5 billion with 55 percent of the sum under the contract being covered by Russian loans, CEO of Russia's Rostec Corporation Sergey Chemezov told the Kommersant newspaper in an interview issued on Wednesday.

He confirmed that Ankara had bought four S-400 systems. "Yes, [they bought four S-400 systems] worth $2.5 billion," Chemezov said.

He also pointed out that the Russian and Turkish Finance Ministries had already completed talks on Moscow's loans for Ankara.

"They should finalize financial papers now. I can say, they [Turkey] will pay 45 percent of the whole some in advance, 55 percent [of the sum] is  being funded by Russian loans. We are going to start deliveries in March 2020," Chemezov added.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the documents Russian S-400 had been signed and that Ankara wanted to take steps to implement the agreement as soon as possible.