Turkish FM says S-400 deal ‘may be’ signed this week

By Ugur Cil, Tugrul Cam and Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said the agreement on the purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia 'may be' signed this week.

In a joint news conference with Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela, Cavusoglu said there are "no problems" in the S-400 deal.

"During the recent visit of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, only an agreement on financing was made. The additional details need to be discussed and finalized in writing. Our experts are working on it and it may be signed this week," Cavusoglu said.

He said technical efforts for placing the S-400 are underway.

Turkey is training its technical staff in both Turkey and Russia, he said.

He added that Turkey may seek help from Russia during the setting-up phase.

"This does not mean there is a Russian military build-up here. This is only technical work. They will do their work and leave Turkey," he said.

The S-400 is Russia’s most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system and can carry three types of missiles capable of destroying targets including ballistic and cruise missiles.

The system can track and engage up to 300 targets at a time and has an altitude ceiling of 27 kilometers (17 miles).

Regarding Wednesday's extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul, Cavusoglu said strong messages were given out at the meeting which were in line with the UN resolutions.

A declaration was issued at the end of the OIC summit recognizing East Jerusalem as capital of Palestine.

The 52-member OIC was established during a historic summit in Rabat, Morocco in 1969 following an arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

Abela said: "We are, of course, completely against the unilateral decision of declaring Jerusalem as the capital."

He urged for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The two ministers praised 50 years of diplomatic relations and both pledged to further extend economic and trade relations.