Turkey in final stage of buying Russian S-400

S-400 - Photo: EnglishRussia.com

Turkey's talks with Russia to purchase the advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile system have reached the final stage, the country's defense minister said. He added that other NATO nations have not offered Turkey a viable alternative to the Russian system.

"It is clear that Turkey needs a missile defense system but NATO member countries have not presented an offer which is financially effective," Fikri Isik told a news conference on Friday.

"Work on the S-400 has reached a final point," he added. "But the final stage does not mean 'let's sign a deal tomorrow morning.'"

The negotiations between Turkey and Russia on a long-range air defense system deal were revealed in November last year. Back in 2015, Ankara walked out of a $3.4 billion contract for a similar Chinese system, FD-2000, the export version of HQ-9. The...