ANKARA: The delivery schedule for Russia’s S-400 missile defense systems to Turkey is continuing as planned, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Friday, dismissing reports of delay.
The US and Turkey have been at odds over Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400s, which Washington says are not compatible with NATO systems and poses a threat to the F-35 stealth fighter jets. Ankara has proposed to form a working group to assess the US concerns, but has not received a response yet.
On Monday, broadcaster Haberturk quoted Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying that the delivery of the S-400s may not happen in June, when Turkey previously said the missiles were due to arrive, but added the agreement was a done deal.
“Reports in some media outlets about Turkey evaluating delaying the S-400 procurement upon the request of the United States do not reflect the truth,” Aksoy said in a statement, adding that Ankara’s offer for a joint working group with Washington was still valid.
Turkey: No delays in delivery of S-400s from Russia
Turkey: No delays in delivery of S-400s from Russia
- The US and Turkey have been at odds over Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400s
- Turkey previously said the missiles were due to arrive, but added the agreement was a done deal
Israel agrees to ‘limited reopening’ of Rafah crossing: PM’s office
- The announcement came after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza
JERUSALEM: Israel said Monday it would allow a “limited reopening” of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage in the Palestinian territory.
The announcement came after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza.
Reopening Rafah forms part of a Gaza truce framework announced by US President Donald Trump in October, but the crossing has remained closed after Israeli forces took control of it during the war.
The Israeli military also said it was searching a cemetery in the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, a non-commissioned officer in the police’s elite Yassam unit.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the reopening would depend on “the return of all living hostages and a 100 percent effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said on X.
It said Israel’s military was “currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return” Gvili’s body.
“Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing,” it said.
