Russia Talks S-400 Deliveries With Middle Eastern, South-East Asian Countries

HANOI (Sputnik) - Russia is engaged in the negotiations on the deliveries of S-400 air defense missile systems with a number of Middle Eastern and South-East Asian countries that are willing to purchase the complexes, following Turkey's example, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.

According to the minister, "the interest in purchasing the systems has already been shown by other states, in particular, of the Middle Eastern region and South-East Asia."

"The relevant negotiations are currently under way," Shoigu added.

Earlier, the Russian Rostec Corporation said that in March 2020 Russia will start the deliveries of the missile defence system to Turkey. The 55 percent of the $2.5 billion Ankara is paying, under the contract being covered by Russian loans.

Meanwhile, China has become the first foreign state to sign a contract on supplies of Russia's S-400 systems. In 2014, Russia reportedly was due to supply six battalions of S-400 with a total price of $3 billion. The contract on the delivery of the S-400 to China is expected to be fulfilled by 2020.

Also, Russia has signed agreements on supplies of S-400 systems with India, Saudi Arabia. Media reported earlier that the negotiations on the systems' supplies to Morocco were underway.