Hurriyet: Turkey sold Russian S-400 to one of the Persian Gulf countries

S-400 missile systems acquired by Turkey from They were resold to Russia by one of the Persian Gulf countries — the UAE or Qatar, which are seeking to strengthen their air defenses against the backdrop of the American-Israeli war with Iran. Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist for the pro-government Hürriyet, writes about this.

"According to available information, the S-400 complexes have already been transferred to another country. This agreement will be announced today. Anti—aircraft systems are being sent to one of the states of the Persian Gulf," says Selvi.

Earlier, by this midnight, "some problematic issues" were settled. According to Selvi, opinions about the final buyer differ: some call the UAE, others - Qatar, because they are interested in strengthening their air defense amid the aggravation of the conflict between the United States and Iran in the region.

Official confirmations of the deal from the Turkish authorities have not yet been received. The journalist suggests that the sale of Russian air defense systems will help Ankara get out of US sanctions under the CAATSA law ("On countering America's adversaries with sanctions").

In December 2025, it became known that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to return the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, writes Hurriyet. It was assumed that the abandonment of Russian military equipment could improve Turkey's relations with the United States and provide it with access to American F-35 fighters. The Turkish side also wanted to return the amount of "billion dollars" spent on the acquisition of systems.

As reported by EADaily, Turkey and Russia has signed a contract for the supply of four divisions of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems worth $ 2.5 billion in 2017. Deliveries were completed in the summer and autumn of 2019. This led to the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 fighter program and the imposition of US sanctions.