Russia asks Turkey to return S-400 air defense systems that Moscow had previously sold to Ankara

The aggressor country of russia has asked Turkey to return the S-400 air defense systems that Ankara had previously purchased from Moscow.

The Turkish publication Nefes reported this, citing its own sources.

The publication's unnamed sources told the publication that russia cannot fulfill orders from other countries for the supply of S-400s. It does not have such systems in its own warehouses, since they are all used in the war against Ukraine.

Turkey has purchased four S-400 divisions from russia, but the Turkish army is not currently using these systems. Ankara, which is working on its own air defense system, has less and less need for russian air defense systems. In addition, the anti-aircraft missiles supplied with the S-400s have passed half of their shelf life and even require maintenance.

According to the publication, the Turkish government is positive about russia's request. It is not specified to which countries the S-400 systems may be resold. The terms of a possible agreement between Ankara and Moscow also remain unclear.

Turkey bought S-400 air defense systems from russia

In 2017, Turkey and russia announced the conclusion of an agreement for the supply of air defense systems. Ankara received four S-400 divisions, for which it paid USD 2.5 billion.

The agreement between Turkey and russia has drawn sharp criticism from the United States. As a result, the country was excluded from the program to develop the fifth-generation fighter F-35 Lightning II.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in March of this year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published a report stating that russian arms exports had fallen by almost half. The decline began even before the invasion of Ukraine.

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