US Still Pushing Turkey to Buy Patriot Air Defence System instead of Russian S-400

The United States is still negotiating with Turkey to reach an agreement on the purchase of US Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems instead of Russian S-400. This was reported by the Sabah newspaper referring to US Assistant Secretary of State for Military-Political Affairs Tina Kaidanov.

Kaydanov at the Farnborough air show said that the US is negotiating with Turkey and “is trying to convey to the Turkish side about what can be done in this situation with regard to US Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems.” We are worried that the acquisition of Russian S-400 will be a direct support to Russia who is being aggressive in Europe and other parts the Turkish edition stated.

The representative of the State Department also added that Washington expects that the acquisition of American Patriot systems by Turkey will improve the strategic partnership between US and Turkey.

In November 2016, it became known about the negotiations between Turkey and Russia on the purchase of S-400. The fact of concluding the contract was confirmed by the Russian side on September 12, 2017, at the same time the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the advance on the contract has already been made. Turkey will become the first member state of NATO, which will receive from Russia S-400, the number of delivered complexes was not officially specified.

Why is Saudi Dumping the Patriot Missiles for Russian S-400?

Earlier, as EurAsian Times reported the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, held in the Kremlin on October 5, gave an impetus of the strengthening of relations between Moscow and Riyadh. The leaders of the two countries confirmed the desire to develop mutually beneficial cooperation not only in the field of the economy but also in the defence sector. During the first visit of the Saudi King to Russia, it became known about the intention of Saudi Arabia to acquire the Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system (SA-21 Growler).

American Patriot systems in Saudi Arabia have been in existence since the 1990s. The Saudis constantly – every three to four years – place large contracts in the United States. They buy weapons in excess. In reality, they do not buy weapons (it largely goes directly to the storage and parking bases), they even do not have enough personnel to use it.