​Turkey among largest importers of Russian military hardware

The portfolio of Turkey’s orders for Russian military equipment is estimated at around $1 billion, Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation told Ecoturk TV.

The Russian official also mentioned Turkey is among the five biggest importers of Russian weapons and military equipment, mainly due to the purchase of S-400 missile defense system.

The volume of Russian-Turkish export contracts has not been officially revealed earlier.

Turkish President Erdoğan in September 2017 announced that Turkey and Russia signed an agreement regarding the procurement of the S-400s.

Tensions between the United States and Turkey had escalated over the purchase of the Russian-made S-400s, which Washington has said will jeopardize Turkey’s role in the F-35 fighter jet program and could trigger sanctions.

Following protracted efforts to purchase an air defense system from the United States with no success, Ankara decided in 2017 to purchase the Russian system.