Russia will begin the delivery of its most advanced S-400 air defense missile systems to Turkey from July 2019, Ankara's Undersecretary for Defense Industries Ismail Demir stated on Wednesday. "We have changed the delivery date of the S-400 systems, specified in the contract with Russia, to July 2019," the official wrote on Twitter. The negotiations between the two countries on the purchase of the anti-aircraft system first started in November 2016, while a contract was signed in September 2017, when Turkey made an advance payment. The S-400 is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 400 km and at an altitude of up to 60 km.
Demir added that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked about "the possibility of expanding military cooperation" during a meeting yesterday in Ankara with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Shortly after the meeting, Putin claimed that Russia's "Turkish partners and friends" requested to speed up the delivery of the S-300 systems. Meanwhile, regarding the upgraded S-400 systems, Russian president added that there are no military or political restrictions for their joint production or transfer of the corresponding technologies to Turkey, which has been a NATO member since 1952.
