S-400 systems pose no threat to NATO, Turkish top diplomat says

ANKARA, July 16. /TASS/. The S-400 missile systems that are being delivered to Turkey from Russia pose no threat to NATO, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference on Tuesday. "The S-400 systems pose no threat to NATO. There is no need to create tensions over this matter, which has been closed," he said. NATO’s press service earlier expressed deep concern over media reports about the delivery of the S-400 systems to Turkey. S-400 deal News about Russian-Turkish talks on the delivery of the S-400 systems first came in November 2016. In September 2017, Erdogan announced that Ankara had signed a contract with Moscow on purchasing the S-400 systems and made an advance payment. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said later that Ankara would begin the deployment of the S-400 systems in October 2019. Russia’s Rostec State Corporation Sergei Chemezov said in December 2017 that the deal was worth $2.5 bln. The Turkish Defense Ministry announced the beginning of the S-400 deliveries on July 12. On July 16, the 11th aircraft carrying parts of the S-400 systems arrived in Turkey. The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range ones, and can also be used against ground objectives. The S-400 system can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 35 km. Read more