Türkiye leaves open the possibility of buying Patriot but still buys Russia's S-400
Türkiye is ready to consider the US proposal for Patriot air defense missile systems but will not accept the refusal to purchase Russia's S-400 air defense systems, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said.
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| Russia's S-400 air defense system. Photo: Sputnik |
"In the future, Türkiye may buy the Patriot system, but does not consider this possible if the United States makes it a condition to refuse to buy the S-400," he said on NTV channel.
Earlier, Anadolu news agency reported that the US delegation had made a proposal to Türkiye on the sale of the Patriot air defense system. The system includes four AN/MPQ-65 radar stations, 10 antenna clusters, 20 M903 launchers, test equipment and other equipment.
Earlier, the Pentagon's Defense and Security Cooperation Agency reported that the US State Department has approved a possible deal with Türkiye to sell Patriot missile defense systems for a total of $3.5 billion.
The sale of US missile defense systems to Türkiye and the delivery of Russian S-400 systems are not related processes, the implementation of the contract with Russia will continue, said the spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov.