S-400s to be delivered to Turkey in 'minimum 2 years'

Russia will start the delivery of S-400 air defense missile systems to Turkey in a "minimum of two years," Defense Industries Undersecretary İsmail Demir stated on Sept. 25.        

"We don't want to give a full timetable as we have made certain negotiations to pull the calendar forward, but we can say the delivery will start in a minimum of two years," Demir said at a launch meeting of the Unmanned and Autonomous Land Vehicles Design Contest in Ankara.        

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last week that the first deposit payment for the S-400 had been made to Russia.        

"Our friends have already signed [an agreement on] S-400s. A deposit has also been paid, as far as I know. The process will continue with the transfer of credit from Russia to us. Both [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and myself are determined on this issue," Erdoğan told reporters.