Ankara, Moscow hold talks on S-400 production in Turkey

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ankara and Moscow are in talks on production of the S-400 air defense systems component parts in Turkey, Alexander Mikheev, head of Russian official arms exporter company Rosoboronexport, said on Thursday.

"Now we are negotiating to continue our cooperation on this issue, including the organization of license production of certain component parts of the system in Turkey," he said.

He also added that cooperation on the S-400 delivery "strengthened the strategic partnership" between the two countries.

"Rosoboronexport plans to expand its contacts with the Turkish side as much as possible to implement mutually beneficial projects in the fields of helicopter construction, combat aviation, and air defense," Mikheev added.

The delivery of S-400 components began on July 12 and is set to continue through April 2020.

Turkey and the U.S. have been at odds over the S-400 purchase, with Washington claiming incompatibility with NATO systems, and threatening sanctions, while Ankara denies this, but promises any sanctions will be met in kind.