The first shipment of a Russian-made S-400 air defense missile system has been received by Turkey, defying the opposition from US.
Turkish defence ministry said that on Friday, a an airbase carrying the shipment arrived at the capital Ankara. This is considered to be a step certain to test the country’s uneasy place in the NATO alliance.
A warning has been given by the US that Turkey cannot have both the S-400 anti-aircraft defence system and US F-35 fighter jets. The current move of Turkey will likely anger the US.
The United States and Turkey are Nato allies – but Turkey has also been establishing closer links with Russia.
The S-400 system contains advanced radar for detecting aircraft and other targets. United States has been unyielding in its opposition to the move of Turkey in obtaining the equipment.
It is expected that a second batch of shipment will be reaching Turkey in the near future, a military-diplomatic source told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
“It is up to allies to decide what military equipment they buy. However, we are concerned about the potential consequences of Turkey’s decision to acquire the S-400 system”, said a NATO official to CNN.
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