Turkey foresees no delay to delivery of Russian S-400 air defense systems

The delivery schedule for Russia’s S-400 missile defense systems to Turkey is continuing as planned, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Friday. He dismissed reports that Ankara has been evaluating a delay in response to US concerns, Reuters reports.

The US says the S-400s are not compatible with NATO’s defense network and would pose a threat to F-35 stealth fighter jets, which Turkey is due to receive.

On Monday, the broadcaster Haberturk quoted Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying that the delivery of the S-400s may not happen in June, which is when Turkey had previously said the missiles could arrive. However, the minister added the agreement was a done deal.

Aksoy said that procurement of the S-400 systems was continuing as scheduled and that the offer to form a working group to assess the US concerns was still on the table.