Turkey Seeks Russian Credit To Buy S-400 Missile System

Turkey has sought a loan to buy S-400 missile system from Russia, Rostec Corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov said in an interview.

"Turkey’s officials express a wish to get a loan, but the issue is pending so far. The Ministry of Finance is conducting negotiations – as soon as an agreement is signed and the loan amount is determined, we’ll then sign a supply contract for S-400 and so on," Sergey Chemezov said during an interview with Russia 24 news channel aired on Tuesday.

Turkey had first shown interest in the missile system in October last year. "As for missile defense, work is continuing. We are negotiating on S-400 not only with Russia, but with other countries that have similar systems. Russia's position on this issue now is positive," Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik had said in an interview with Turkey's NTV broadcaster.

"We hope that NATO member states would take this seriously, and our system will be compatible with the alliance's requirements. But we do not in any way reject the Russian proposal, and are actively working on it. Our ultimate goal is to manufacture these systems at home," Isik had said.

Even though there are possibilities of contradictions with NATO that may arise in the case of purchasing S-400 missile systems from Russia, the Turkish president’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that he "does not see in this regard any problems or negative aspects."

"Besides, there are examples when some NATO countries are using these systems. We know about them. The issue of compatibility is easily solved at the technical level," he was quoted as saying by TASS in February this year.

In 2013 Turkey had attempted buying Chinese T-LORAMIDS air defense system from China Precision Manufacturing Import-Export Corp (CPMIEC) for $3.44 billion.

The Russian bid for the S-300 system was disqualified terming it twice more expensive. Other bidders included consortium of US companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, maker of the Patriot system, and the European Eurosam, maker of the SAMP-T.

After its NATO partners strongly objected, Ankara eventually abandoned the Chinese missile system procurement and decided to build on its own air defense system. NATO was against the Chinese buy as it would expose alliance information to China. Turkey had countered the argument with China willing to part with technology transfer and would eventually help Turkey in its home production.