"The point is that S-400 is the best [air defence] system, and it is a pleasure for me to promote it. I can tell you that the number of [countries] that want to buy S-400 has not decreased. We appreciate our Turkish colleagues' persistence a lot. The contract has got off, we are completing the first stage of deliveries this week," Shugayev told reporters.
The senior official added that the first stage of S-400 deliveries to Turkey would be completed later in the week.
Last week, it was reported that the US was working with the Indian military to try to convince them not to purchase Russian S-400 systems that the US regards as a “bit of a problem.”
At the same time, US President Donald Trump has found himself under pressure of senators, who urge him to impose sanctions against Turkey for purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defence systems.
Russia started deliveries of its S-400 systems earlier in the month in accordance with a $2.5 billion deal signed in 2017. The US has repeatedly urged Turkey to abandon the deal claiming that the Russian defence systems are incompatible with NATO defences.
