New contracts for the supply of S-400 air defence missile systems to Turkey were not raised at the talks between Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but in general the issue is "in development,” Dmitry Shugayev, the director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, told reporters Tuesday.
“They did not discuss it,” Shugayev said in response to a relevant question. “We have the S-400 topic, let's say, in development, so we’ll see how events develop,” he said.
Similarly, the purchase of Russian fighter jets by Turkey was not discussed at the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, Shugaev said.
“Not today,” Shugaev told reporters, answering the question whether the issue was discussed at the summit in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday.
He added that the Turkish side is "studying this issue."
Earlier this year, Erdogan said that his government and Moscow were conducting negotiations on the possible acquisition of Russian Su-57 fighters. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, Ankara is interested in Russian fighter jets, but specific talks on the sensitive matter are not currently on the agenda.
