Lavrov announced Turkey's obligations to Russia on S-400

Ankara has its obligations to Moscow regarding the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, so the idea of the European Union (EU) to buy them from Turkey for transfer to Ukraine is not sound. This was stated on December 11 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during an embassy round table on the Ukrainian settlement.

The minister recalled that Russia supplied Turkey with these systems several years ago, and they are among the best. Ankara has the S-400 in its arsenal, to the annoyance of the West and the United States.

"The United States, aware of Ankara's interest in buying F-35 fighter jets, conditioned the delivery of these aircraft on Turkey's abandonment of the S-400 air defense systems. This has been floating in the media space for a long time," the Russian Foreign Minister said.

Lavrov noted that he is aware of reports that EU countries allegedly want to buy S-400s from Turkey and send them to Ukraine.

"No one even thinks that Turkey, as a buyer, has an obligation not to take such steps without coordination with the Russian Federation," the minister said.

The US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, announced on December 5 that Turkey currently does not use the Russian S-400 air defense systems and may abandon them completely. Barrack expressed confidence that the issues related to the S-400 system will be resolved within the next four to six months.

On September 18, the Turkish Defense Ministry, in response to allegations by some media outlets that Russian air defense systems could be returned or resold to a third party, reported that the S-400 remains in service with the Turkish army, and no changes are planned regarding their functions.

Moscow signed a contract with Ankara for the supply of S-400 in 2017. At that time, Turkey was the first NATO country to purchase these systems from Russia. This decision caused a negative reaction from the United States and NATO. The White House has repeatedly warned the Turkish leadership about the negative consequences of arms purchases from Moscow.

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