The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that work on the S-400 issue is continuing in a multilateral mode. This was stated by a representative of the department at a briefing in Ankara, without specifying what exactly is meant by such work. Specific developments will be reported as they unfold, he added.
The statement came against the backdrop of information from the pro-government Turkish newspaper Hürriyet that the S-400s were secretly sold to one of the Persian Gulf countries. According to the publication, the UAE and Qatar were named as the most likely buyers. Sources told journalists that the deal would be announced soon.
Recall that Turkey acquired four S-400 divisions from Russia in 2017 for $2.5 billion. The contract was fully executed by October 2019, but after the deal, Ankara was excluded from the American F-35 fighter program. In July 2026, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to lift sanctions against Turkey if the S-400 issue was resolved in favor of the United States.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that contacts with the Turkish side on this topic have been and will continue. At the same time, he called the issue "super-sensitive" and refused to disclose details. According to the Kremlin representative, any transfer of S-400s to a third country cannot be carried out without Russia's consent.