Moscow and Ankara agreed on the delivery of the S-400 air defense system to Turkey, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Kozhin said June 29. Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kozhin as saying, “The contract has been agreed upon. The issue on the loan has not been resolved yet.” Kozhin added that Russia sees “no obstacles” to the delivery of the air missile defense system to Turkey in connection with its membership to NATO.

Turkish defense officials have previously argued that fellow NATO allies failed to present a “financially effective” deal for an alternative defense system. “It is clear that Turkey needs a missile defense system but NATO member countries have not presented on offer which is financially effective,” Defense Minister Fikri Isik told a news conference in April 2017. The decision to purchase a system from a non-NATO country means that Turkey will not be able to integrate the S-400 into the NATO defense architecture.