The Turkish Defence Ministry reported on Friday that the first batch of Russian S-400 missile defence system components was effectively delivered to Turkey.
"Turkey received the first batch of S-400 air defence systems components. The deliveries are sent to the Murted air base in Ankara province", the Turkish Defence Ministry said.
Türkiye’nin hava ve füze savunma ihtiyacının karşılanmasına yönelik tedarik edilen S-400 Uzun Menzilli Bölge Hava ve Füze Savunma Sisteminin birinci grup malzemelerinin Mürted Hava Meydanı / Ankara’ya intikali 12 Temmuz 2019 tarihinden itibaren başladı.https://t.co/Jp27tuzPJb
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) 12 июля 2019 г.
Meanwhile, Turkish state TV reported that two more planes transporting S-400 components landed in Turkey at an airbase in the Ankara Province.
Reacting to the latest developments, NATO voiced its concerns over the acquisition of S-400 systems by Ankara.
In 2017, Moscow and Ankara inked an agreement for the delivery of state-of-the-art S-400 systems. The US slammed the move, alleging that the systems might be incompatible with NATO standards. Moreover, Washington threatened Ankara with sanctions over the acquisition and blackmailed the country, saying that the US will stop Turkish forces from flying and developing its F-35 jets.
Turkey, in turn, repeatedly stressed that the purchase of military equipment is a sovereign right and ruled out the possibility of abandoning plans to acquire the S-400 systems.
However, tensions recently subdued as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month, that President Trump reassured him that the US would not target Ankara with sanctions over its deal with Russia.
