Turkey Confirms Russian S-400 Air Defense Systems Remain in Service
Turkey’s Defense Ministry denies reports it will return or sell Russian S-400s, saying the systems remain in service despite U.S. pressure and past F-35 sanctions.
On September 18, a source in Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense dismissed claims that Ankara had decided to abandon its Russian-made S-400 «Triumf» air defense systems or sell them to another country.
The Turkish source clarified that the S-400 systems purchased from Russia in 2019 remain in service with Turkey’s armed forces and that «nothing has changed» regarding their status.
The statement came in response to a report by Murat Gurgen, a columnist for a Turkish newspaper, who suggested that Ankara might return the Russian systems or resell them to a third country.
Moscow and Ankara signed a $2.5 billion contract in 2017 for one regimental set of S-400 systems, which was delivered between summer and autumn of 2019.
Following the purchase, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey, including its removal from the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet program, despite Ankara already having invested over $1 billion. Washington has repeatedly demanded that Turkey abandon, return, or resell the Russian air defense systems — a demand Turkey continues to reject.