The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: DemolitionMan on October 21, 2017, 04:10:02 am
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Radio Free Europe
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that his country, which recently announced plans to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, is also interested in acquiring a future Russian missile system that is still under development.
"In our talks with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin we are not thinking of stopping with the S-400s. We have had talks on the S-500s too," Turkish media reports on October 13 quoted Erdogan as saying.
NATO member Turkey's move to acquire the S-400s has been regarded in some Western capitals as a snub to the alliance amid tensions with Russia over its role in the wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine.
The S-400 deal, announced last month, has also caused concern because the Russian-made weapons cannot be integrated into the alliance's defenses.
But Erdogan shrugged off those concerns in his remarks to reporters as he returned from a trip to Ukraine and Serbia.
Erdogan did not say when he had discussed the issue with Putin. The two leaders held talks in Ankara on September 28.
In a separate development, an aide to Putin said on October 13 that Russia and Saudi Arabia are close to signing a deal on supplying S-400 missile systems to Riyadh.
https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-erdogan-s-500-missile-russia/28791497.html