‘Illegitimate’ pressure of US cannot break Russia, Turkey deal: Official

Russian President Vladimir Putin appreciated Turkey for pursuing the missile defence deal, despite facing sanctions from the United States, said Turkish official. Moscow also confirmed it’s willingness to develop military ties with Ankara only weeks after the two engaged in conflicts over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister on Tuesday confirmed that Russia and Turkey’s military cooperation will not fall a victim to the US pressure on the latter. The deal that involves Turkey acquiring a Russian missile defence system will be pursued he added.

It was only in Early December that Washington sent out a message by imposing sanctions against its NATO ally for buying Russia’s S-400 air defence system. With the relationship standing on a fragile bridge, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the time assured the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that the American sanctions were intended to prevent Russia from receiving substantial revenues from the sale and not against Ankara.

Cavusoglu held talks with Moscow counterpart on Tuesday, when he toured Russia. Post the meeting Lavrov said,“We have confirmed our mutual intention to develop military ties with Turkey.”

He added that President Vladimir Putin appreciated Turkey’s determination to “continue cooperation in this area despite continuing illegitimate pressure from Washington.”

Russia last year delivered the S-400 system to Ankara ignoring warnings that it is not compatible with Turkey’s membership in the NATO alliance.

Although Russia and Turkey are rivals in several conflicts including Libya and Syria, Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintain good relations. The two countries are jointly monitoring a Russian-mediated truce over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after a six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan that claimed more than 6,000 lives.

But tensions between the two had risen over Nagorno-Karabakh while the fighting was ongoing, with Russia accusing Turkey of deploying Syrian fighters to combat Armenian forces in the contested region.

Earlier this month Turkish police briefly arrested two Russian journalists in Istanbul for allegedly filming a drone production unit without permission.