The installation of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in Turkey will begin in October 2019, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told Anadolu Agency.
Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 systems, which are not compatible with NATO defenses, has unnerved the United States and NATO member countries, which are already wary of Russia’s presence in the Middle East.
“S-400 PURCHASE IS A NECESSITY”
“The deployment of these systems will begin in October 2019. We are currently recruiting personnel to maintain these complexes. These people will go to Russia in early 2019 to receive necessary training,” Akar said. The Minister added that he believed the US and NATO’s concern regarding the S-400 purchase to be irrelevant. “We will neither cause concern to the US and NATO nor create any problems for them. The S-400 purchase is not a matter of choice for Turkey, but a necessity,” he stressed.
“We are not a country that only buys now, we are a state that creates knowledge and has production opportunities. The agreements we signed contain such provisions and since there are such provisions in the S-400 agreement, we are purchasing these systems,” Akar said.