Russia to Advance $1.375 Billion Loan to Turkey for S-400 Missile System Buy

Russia will provide loans worth US$1.375 Billion to help Turkey pay for its purchase of the S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system.

Turkey will pay 45 percent of the cost up front, with Russia providing loans to cover the remaining 55 percent of the deal worth US$2.5 Billion, Sergei Chemezov, head of Russian state conglomerate Rostec, told the Kommersant daily on Dec. 27.

Earlier this year, Turkish President Erdogan had confirmed that his country has paid an advance for the missile defence system, kicking off the acquisition process. However the amount of advance was not made public.

Turkey will have to pay $1.125 Billion as cash for the S-400 purchase (45 per cent of $2.5 billion).

Russia will supply Turkey with four S-400 surface-to-air missile systems under the deal that is almost finalised, Chemezov said. Moscow expects to begin the first deliveries in March 2020, he said.

He said the Russian and Turkish finance ministries had already completed talks on financing the deal and that the final documents just needed to be approved.

Chemezov told Kommersant that Turkey would be the first NATO member state to acquire the a Russian-made S-400 missile system.