Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık on Friday said talks between Turkey and Russia for the purchase of an S-400 air defense system have reached the final stage.
“Work and talks concerning the S-400 have now reached the final stage. There are related processes ongoing in both Turkey and Russia. An important step for a final agreement has been taken,” said Işık, speaking to reporters.
Underlining that Turkey is aware of the fact that the S-400 cannot be integrated into the NATO system, Minister Işık said: “We know that. We do not have any relevant demand for that. NATO has to be understanding on this topic.”
“You [NATO] neither share technology and respond to demands for joint production, nor present an offer that is financially effective. Hence, you are not in a position to say ‘Don’t buy a non-NATO system’.”
Expressing that due to NATO’s position Ankara had to look for alternative solutions, Işık said Turkey aims to develop its own air defense system and has already started a program for it.
