Russia confirms discussions on relocating S-400 systems from Turkey

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. The issue of relocating Russian-made S-400 systems from Turkey to a friendly country is on the agenda, and relevant work is underway, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

"The topic is on the agenda, relevant work is being conducted, and appropriate communication is in progress," he said in response to a question whether Russia is considering the possibility the systems may be moved from Turkey to a friendly country.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a news conference following the High-Level Week of the 81st UN General Assembly session that Russia is open to the possibility of transferring S-400 missile systems from Turkey to a third, friendly country, though no such requests have been received so far. He clarified that such a transfer cannot take place without Russia's consent.

In 2017, Turkey purchased four S-400 air defense system battalions from Russia for $2.5 billion. In October 2019, Rosoboronexport (part of the Rostec state corporation) announced that the delivery contract had been fulfilled. Following the signing of the contract between Turkey and Russia for the supply of an S-400 regimental set, Ankara was excluded from the US F-35 fighter jet program.