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Turkey close to deal with China for anti-missile system

Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defense Industries says they are 90% done on the agreement purchasing an anti-missile system from China, but notes that there still could be a political decision to abort the agreement.
The logo of China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) is seen at its headquarters in Beijing September 27, 2013. NATO member Turkey has chosen a Chinese defence firm that has been sanctioned by Washington to co-produce a $4 billion long-range air and missile defence system, rejecting rival bids from Russian, U.S. and European firms. The Turkish defence minister announced the decision to award the contract to China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) in a statement on Thursday

Despite all the warnings from the United States and NATO, Turkey looks determined to go ahead with the deal it reached with China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp. (CPMIEC) to acquire a long-range anti-missile system. The Vatan daily today, Nov. 21, quoted officials from the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries who asked to remain anonymous as saying they faced no technical problems in the negotiations with the Chinese side, and predicted that the actual signatures on this potential agreement would be put in place earlier than the projected 6- to 12-month interval.

The same sources also said that they have already started working on new software that would allow them to integrate this Chinese system into the NATO system, and that they registered significant progress so far. With this software, the Turkish side argues that the Chinese system will be integrated into Turkish air defenses, and that would prevent both NATO and China from accessing each other’s networks. They have also stated that while the agreement looks like a 90% done deal, there may still be a political decision to change the end result.

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