Russia to Resume S-400 Deliveries to Turkey

Turkey’s defense minister announced that Russia would this week resume delivering parts of the S-400 anti-missile defense system to Ankara. Turkey began receiving the Russian-made system last month despite strong objections from the United States, which has threatened to sanction its NATO ally over the purchase. Washington maintains that the S-400 could compromise the security of US-made F-35 fighter jets in the Middle East, and potentially allow Moscow to acquire classified American technologies. The issue has caused a major rift in the US-Turkey alliance, even as both nations are preparing to launch a joint operations center to create and monitor a “safe zone” along the Syrian border aimed at preventing armed groups from operating within close proximity to Turkey. President Donald Trump has already removed Ankara – which had ordered more than 100 next-generation US fighter jets at a cost of some $1.4 billion – from the F-35 program.