ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkey says it has paid a deposit as part of an agreement with Russia for the purchase of the Russian air defense system.
"Our friends have already signed [an agreement on] S-400s. A deposit has also been paid, as far as I know,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was cited by Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News as saying.
"The process will continue through a transfer of a credit from Russia to us. Both Mr. Putin and myself, we are determined on this issue,” he added, referring to the Russian president.
Bloomberg had first reported the deal in July, but there came no official confirmation from either Turkey or Russia. Bloomberg said back then that the agreement would see Russia send two S-400 systems to Turkey by the end of 2018, and then help the country domestically produce two more.