ANKARA (Sputnik) – The possible purchase of Patriot air defence systemsfrom the United States will not affect Turkey-Russia agreement of thepurchase of S-400 missiles, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalinsaid Monday.
“We are not closing the door to the Patriot, it all depends on the price,the possibility of technology transfer, joint production and other four orfive important points… We have received the best offers from Russia. If theUnited States provides us with good conditions, we will also evaluatethem,” Kalin said at a briefing in Ankara.
The spokesman underlined that the possible Patriot purchase was not analternative to S-400.
“The deliveries of the [Russian-made] S-400 systems will not be affected,and they will begin in 2019. This is not an alternative, but two parallelprocesses,” the spokesman stressed.
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The statement followed last week’s announcement by the Pentagon, sayingthat the US State Department had approved a possible $3.5 billion saleof Patriot systems to NATO-ally Turkey.
The Patriot sale comes in line with Washington’s attempts to thwart theRussian S-400 air defence systems’ sale to Turkey ever since the contractwas signed on December 20. Previously, the US was threatening to halt F-35jet shipments to Ankara.
