Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on September 30 that the possible relocation of the S-400 air defense systems supplied to Türkiye to a country friendly to Russia is on the agenda. “Such a topic is on the agenda, relevant work is being carried out and relevant contacts are taking place,” he told reporters who asked him to comment on remarks by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Speaking at a news conference in New York on September 26 after the high-level week of the 81st UN General Assembly, Lavrov said Türkiye had not asked Moscow for permission to transfer the systems abroad. He added that Russia could agree to a transfer to a responsible state that has friendly relations with Moscow and guarantees the systems will not end up with third countries. “We will be ready to hand over the S-400 to such a country when there is a request that reliably rules out such violations,” he said.
Lavrov also noted that the systems were delivered under a contract requiring full compliance with the end-user certificate, meaning Ankara cannot move them out of the country without Moscow’s official consent. Neither the Kremlin nor the Russian Foreign Ministry named a possible recipient.
Russia and Türkiye signed the S-400 deal in 2017 and the systems were delivered in the summer and autumn of 2019. The US then removed Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet program and sanctioned its Defense Industry Agency. In July, Turkish daily Hürriyet reported that the systems could be transferred to a Gulf country as part of Ankara’s efforts to rejoin the F-35 program.
