Russia To Ship Second S-400 Air Defence System To Turkey

Russian State news service TASS has reported that Russia and Turkey have signed a contract to facilitate the shipment of a second batch of Russian made S-400 missile defence systems to Turkey.

• Head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev said: "A corresponding agreement has already been signed. Among other things, it will allow for the production of some components of the [S-400 Triumf] system to be localized."
• The Turkish purchase of the S-400 system has been a major point of friction within NATO since the initial purchase 2017. In response to that deal, the US ejected Turkey from the F-35 fighter plane programme and applied sanctions on Turkey's defence sector.
• In June this year, President Biden suggested that some of these restrictions may be dropped to induce Turkish President Recep Erdogan to drop his blockade on the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland.
• Since then, Turkey's role within NATO has come under intense scrutiny. Erdogan has held two high-profile meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, promising to increase economic cooperation and establish a ruble transaction mechanism for the purchase of Russian gas.
• The NYT's writes that ,"Mr. Erdogan’s actions — and Mr. Biden’s limited ability to restrain them — underscore the Turkish leader’s unique position as a military ally frequently at odds with the agenda of his Western allies. To U.S. officials, it is an often maddening role."