Ankara, Moscow finalize S-400 missile system deal

<p style="text-align: left;">Turkey and Russia have signed a $2.5 billion agreement for Moscow to supply Ankara with an S-400 missile defense system, Reuters reported on Friday based on Turkish media.

The two states have been working for more than a year to finalize the deal, Hurriyet daily said in a report.

No details of the agreement were available, but Sergei Chemezov, head of the Russian state conglomerate Rostec, told the Kommersant daily on Wednesday Russia would supply Turkey with four batteries of S-400s under the deal.

He said Moscow was expected to begin the first deliveries in March 2020 and that Turkey was the first NATO member state to acquire the advanced S-400 missile system, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish newspapers cited President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Turkey would borrow in the Russian currency in a loan deal under the accord.

&ldquo;We will not borrow in dollars in this loan, we will borrow in rubles,&rdquo; Hurriyet daily quoted Erdogan as telling reporters on his plane, returning to Turkey from a trip to Africa.

According to Chemezov, Turkey would pay 45 percent of the cost of the agreement up front, with Russia providing loans to cover the remaining 55 percent.

Reporter&rsquo;s code: 50101

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