Russia plans to sign a new contract with Turkey to supply its S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in the first half of 2020, Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport head Alexander Mikheev said, APA reports citing Daily Sabah.
"We hope that in the first half of 2020 we will sign contract documents. However, I want to emphasize that military-technical cooperation with Turkey is not limited to the supply of S-400s. We have big plans ahead," RIA Novosti news agency cited Mikheev as saying Tuesday.
According to Mikheev, Turkey has an option for another S-400 regiment and has already received the terms of reference from Moscow.
The terms of reference provide for the technical support of the project by the Turkish side, including partial localization of the production of individual elements of the system, but it is premature to say what and in what volumes would be manufactured in Turkey, he added.
Mikheev also said the two sides were discussing the financial side of the new agreement.
Russia delivered two batteries of the S-400 system to Turkey between July and September. On Monday, the Turkish military began testing the Russian systems' radars near the capital Ankara.
Following protracted efforts to purchase an air defense system from the U.S. with no success, Ankara signed a $2.5 billion contract in 2017 to purchase the Russian S-400s.
The Russian missile system purchase has been a sticking point between Turkey and the U.S. for some time as Washington has argued that the S-400 system would be incompatible with NATO systems. Turkey, however, emphasized the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems, would not pose a threat to the alliance and rejected stepping back from the deal.
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