Türkiye will still buy S-400 despite US offer
According to the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak, a US delegation tried to persuade Türkiye to abandon the purchase of Russian air defense systems during a visit to Ankara last week. However, Turkish officials rejected the US offer because the contract did not include a discount or technology transfer.
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| Russian S-400 air defense system. |
The US has offered to sell the Patriot air defense system to Ankara, Anadolu news agency said. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has agreed to sell Türkiye 80 Patriot MIM-104E missiles, 60 PAC-3 missiles and related equipment, worth $3.5 billion.
According to Sputnik, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 19, 2018 that there is no connection between Türkiye's possible purchase of the US Patriot system and its purchase of the Russian S-400 system, emphasizing that Moscow and Ankara will continue to implement the contract for the delivery of this advanced air defense system.
The S-400 is a new generation mobile air defense system that can carry many types of missiles, capable of destroying many aerial targets from short to very long distances, from spy planes to ballistic missiles.