According to the Russian parliamentarian, Turkey needs the S-400 to control airspace and ensure national security and sovereignty.
According to INTERFAX, commenting on the initiative of the American senator, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky said that Turkey would not abandon the Russian S-400 air defense systems, even a hypothetical discussion of re-export could complicate Ankara’s bilateral relations with Moscow.
“The proposal of Republican Senator John Thune to buy S-400 from Turkey, supposedly to resolve the contradictions between Ankara and Washington, is unprincipled, cynical, but I hope it is unlikely to be possible and accepted by the Turkish side,” Slutsky told reporters on Tuesday, “The aim S-400 purchases for Turkey included, among other things, airspace control with the help of Russian air defense systems to ensure national security and sovereignty. It is unlikely that Ankara will abandon these goals for the sake of imaginary benefits. Moreover, even US sanctions did not force the Turkish leadership to break the agreement. ”
Defense News reported earlier that Republican Senator Thun suggested that the United States could buy Russian-made S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) from Turkey, thereby resolving a number of conflicts with Ankara.