Erdogan touts missile deal as Ankara, Moscow exchange favors

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party July 25 that his country had signed an agreement with Russia to buy an S-400 missile defense battery system, apparently overriding objections from the United States and fellow NATO partners. Steps have been taken concerning the S-400s, he reported, declaring, "God willing, we’ll see them in our country soon.”

Erdogan was probably referring to a preliminary agreement to pay $2.5 billion to acquire Russia’s most advanced missile defense system, a deal that cannot be considered final until some money changes hands. Indeed, it remains unclear what sort of financing package is being envisioned.

Erdogan’s remarks came a day after Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, argued that Turkey could not proceed with the purchase. “It would be a concern, were they to do that, but they have not done that,” he told a security forum in Aspen, Colorado.

However, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Fikri Isik, who was the defense minister until last week’s Cabinet reshuffle, signaled Turkey’s determination to go ahead with the deal, saying, “All technical work is completed.”