Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defence systems in its first major weapons purchase from Moscow, Turkish newspapers on Tuesday quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.<\/p>\n
The accord for the surface-to-air missile defence batteries is Ankara’s most significant pact with a non-Nato supplier.<\/p>\n
\u201cSignatures have been made for the purchase of S-400s from Russia. A deposit has also been paid as far as I know,\u201d Erdogan said in comments published in the Hurriyet Daily<\/em> and other newspapers.<\/p>\n \u201c(Russian President Vladimir Putin) and myself are determined on this issue,\u201d he told journalists.<\/p>\n The purchase of the missile systems from a non-Nato supplier will raise concerns in the West over their compatibility with the alliance’s equipment.<\/p>\n The Pentagon has already sounded alarm, saying bluntly that \u201cgenerally it’s a good idea\u201d for Nato allies to buy interoperable equipment.<\/p>\n Erdogan said Turkey was free to make military acquisitions based on its defence needs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe make the decisions about our own independence ourselves, we are obliged to take safety and security measures in order to defend our country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Moscow also confirmed the accord, with Vladimir Kozhin, Putin’s adviser for military and technical cooperation, saying: \u201cThe contract has been signed and is being prepared for implementation.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that the S-400 was one of the most complex systems, made up of a whole range of technical materials.<\/p>\n \u201cI can only guarantee that all decisions taken on this contract strictly comply with our strategic interests,\u201d he was quoted as saying by Russian state-owned [TASS<\/em>]2 news agency.<\/p>\n \u201cFor this reason, we fully understand the reactions of several Western countries which are trying to put pressure on Turkey,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Russia’s relations with Nato have been in crisis over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and for backing pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n Turkey, a Nato member since 1952, has currently troubled ties with the United States over a number of issues including Washington’s support of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) Syrian Kurd militia which Ankara considers a terror group.<\/p>\n