Russian S-400 system ready for use, Akar says
[AP]
Turkey’s Russian-made surface-to-air missile batteries are ready for action and will be used if the country is threatened, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said.
“The S-400 is in place and ready for use,” Akar told the parliament’s planning and budget committee in Ankara Tuesday, according to the state-owned Anadolu news agency.
“If any threats arise, we will decide where and how to use it,” he was quoted as saying.
Akar also reiterated Ankara’s position that the S-400 were seen as necessary after Turkish efforts to procure patriot missiles from the US failed in 2017.
Washington says the S-400 missiles are incompatible with NATO systems.
