TSAMTO, March 15. The delivery of the second regimental set of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey is delayed due to Ankara's objection to the clause prohibiting the sale of the complex to third countries, which is generally accepted in the world practice in the field of military-technical cooperation.
About this, as RIA Novosti reports, the newspaper Aydinlik writes with reference to its own knowledgeable sources.
As the director of the fourth European department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Yuri Pilipson, told RIA Novosti earlier, Moscow sees no unsolvable tasks in the issue of supplying Turkey with the second regiment of S-400 air defense systems.
"Turkey has purchased the first S-400 regimental kit from Russia, but the second stage, from which it will receive real privileges, has not yet begun. However, the contract signed in 2017 was designed not for one regiment, but for two (the second regimental set was provided for by an option to the agreement – approx. TSAMTO). According to the contract, the first regimental set was to be a direct purchase, and the second one was to meet such requirements as technology transfer, joint production and software integration," the newspaper writes.
The article says that "Russia not only signed an agreement on technology transfer, but also gave a number of positive messages in this context." "However, while we were close to obtaining the most important know-how, there was a pause in Ankara. It became known that due to an article in the contract, the issue of transition to the second phase was postponed, and the necessary approval remained on the table of Hulusi Akar, the Minister of National Defense. The article that Ankara objects to is a ban on sales to third countries, which is a generally accepted worldwide obligation of the importer in the field of military–technical cooperation," the newspaper writes.
As RIA Novosti reminds, in 2017, Russia and Turkey signed the first contract for the supply of a regimental set of S-400 air defense systems worth $ 2.5 billion with an option to purchase another regiment. Deliveries of the first regiment were made in the summer-autumn of 2019.
In 2022, Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) of Russia, told RIA Novosti that the contract for the supply of the second regiment of the S-400 air defense system was signed and began to be implemented.
