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Turkey 'refuses to jettison' Russian S-400 missile systems despite US pressure

Iran Press TV

Friday, 07 November 2025 8:33 AM

Turkey will not abandon its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems despite sustained pressure from the United States, the Bloomberg reports.

Citing officials familiar with the matter, the American news outlet said on Thursday that Ankara is open to limited compromises regarding the advanced air defense systems' operation, but has ruled out their removal.

The unnamed officials added that Ankara could agree to a "joint military mechanism" with Washington to oversee the use of the S-400s - a plan meant to address US concerns without dismantling the Russian platform.

"Turkey has signaled it is willing to compromise over the Russian S-400 missiles but has refused to jettison the system completely, as demanded by Washington. Turkey could agree to a technical, joint military mechanism to supervise the S-400," Bloomberg reported.

Turkey purchased four S-400 units from Russia in 2017 for $2.5 billion, with Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport confirming by October 2019 the completion of all deliveries.

The move was met with a US response and the expulsion of Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program.

Bloomberg said Ankara's decision to retain the S-400s comes as it prepares another round of talks with Lockheed Martin over pricing disputes for new F-16 Viper aircraft.

Turkey — the world's largest F-16 operator outside the US — has resisted Lockheed's demand that it finance upgrades to the aircraft's mission computer and production lines despite the US Congress' clearance for the sale of 40 jets, according to the officials.

"Although the US Congress approved Turkey's acquisition of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 Vipers in February 2024, Turkey has resisted the company's requirement that as the buyer it should pay for upgrades of the jet's mission computer and new production lines to overcome a backlog of orders," the news outlet cited the unnamed officials as saying.

Media reports stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made a personal appeal regarding the issue to US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House, but Washington has yet to comment publicly on the exchange.

Moreover, Ankara signed a deal with the UK last month to purchase 20 Eurofighter Typhoons and is negotiating to purchase 12 used Typhoons each from Qatar and Oman, with deliveries expected in early 2026.

Bloomberg reported in September that Erdogan was pressing Trump to authorize local production of key components for Boeing and Lockheed Martin jets as part of a wider plan to purchase hundreds of US aircraft.

According to people familiar with the negotiations, Erdogan sought to offset multibillion-dollar payments for the planes through local manufacturing deals valued at over $10 billion.

The report said Ankara hoped the discussions would ease tensions created by its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which led to US sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program in 2019.

Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 system has since 2017 deeply affected its relations with NATO and the US, as the long-range surface-to-air missile system is not compatible with NATO equipment.

Ankara has stated the S-400 system would operate independently and not be integrated into NATO networks, with Russian technicians not allowed to operate the system.

Turkey has excluded the S-400 from its new air defense project but retains it as a dormant capability to be deployed if needed.