Moscow lends Turkey credit card to buy Russian missiles

Turkey is looking to pay for a new Russian missile defence system with a loan from Moscow, according to the Russian CEO responsible for the deal.

MENA

2 min read

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15 March, 2017

The Russian S-400 lond-distance missiles at a military parade in Moscow [AFP]

Turkey is looking to pay for a new Russian missile defence system with a loan from Moscow, according to the Russian CEO responsible for the deal.

The loan required to buy a new S-400 missile system was being considered by the Kremlin, Russia's state-owned news channel, Rossiya-24.

"They have expressed a wish to get a loan, but the issue has not yet been resolved," the CEO of Rostech said.

"The Finance Ministry is holding talks, as soon as they sign this and take a decision on allocating a loan, we will sign contracts on supplies, including the S-400."

Turkey's President Erdogan met with Russia's President Putin in Moscow last week to discuss a number of bilateral agreements - including a purchase order on the anti-aircraft missiles.

The deal is considered controversial because Turkey is a NATO member - a military defence organisation that Russia is not party to.

One of the S-400 system's main strengths is its mobility, as the missiles are positioned on the back of a truck.

Russia has reportedly deployed a number of S-400 missiles to Syria to enforce a no-fly zone around its deployment base there.

One of the latest customers for Russia's missile defence systems was Iran, who bought the S-300 system - the model down from the S-400 - the week previous to Erdogan's visit.