Russia received an advance payment from Turkey for S-400 missile systems
Russia received an advance payment from Turkey for the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, as indicated by Vladimir Kozhin, Presidential Aide for military technical cooperation on September 29. "Yes, we received it. We cannot discuss the time frame for deliveries at this time," Kozhin said.
According to him, Turkey wants the S-400 deliveries to start before 2019, however this issue is still being discussed. Earlier, the Undersecretary for Defense Industries of Turkey, Ismail Demir, said that deliveries would begin within two years.
The West is anxiously observing the expansion of military cooperation between Turkey and Russia. NATO fears that Turkey might distance itself from the North Atlantic Alliance and even withdraw from it.
At the meeting in Ankara on the evening of September 28th, the Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to accelerate the creation of a de-escalation zone in the Syrian province of Idlib, almost completely controlled by jihadists. The Presidents also agreed to expand economic cooperation between Moscow and Ankara.