America must come to terms with fact that Turkish purchase of Russian missile system is DONE DEAL, warns Turkey’s foreign minister

Turkey will continue to receive deliveries of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, and there is nothing the US can do about it, despite Washington constantly threatening sanctions and other possible consequences.

That’s according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who told the NTV channel on Tuesday that the purchase had already been completed. “The US should accept that this is a closed subject,” Çavuşoğlu said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

In 2017, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a $2.5 billion agreement for delivery of the S-400 air defense system units. Turkey is the first member of the US-led NATO bloc to do so. In response, the US raised concerns and threatened sanctions, albeit to no effect, and even kicked Ankara out of its F-35 stealth multirole combat aircraft program.

The original deal envisioned delivery of four full S-400 batteries, including launchers, command and logistics vehicles, and missiles. Delivery of the systems began in 2019.

The S-400 is an anti-aircraft weapon system with a max speed of 4.8km/s (three miles per second) and a range of 600km (375 miles). As well as being in operation with the Russian Army, it has been sold to China, and both India and Saudi Arabia have placed orders.

Earlier this year, the Russian Defense Ministry revealed that the next upgrade, the S-500, is currently in testing. “We plan that the first S-500 system will be procured to the Moscow Region’s air and missile defense unit after a full cycle of tests is completed,” a ministry statement said in July.

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