Russian S-400 missile air defence systems on display during a parade at Red Square in Moscow, May 9, 2018. (REUTERS)
MOSCOW, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia is interested in expanding its military technical cooperation with Ankara and is ready to consider supplying more S-400 air defense missiles to Turkey, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
"Russia is open. Russia has appropriate capabilities and technological competencies. Russia is looking for opportunities to expand this cooperation. This is an absolutely normal practice," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said that military technical cooperation is a very important part of Russia's interaction with many foreign countries, as "such cooperation indicates a special level of development of bilateral relations. This also applies to Turkey."
Peskov made the remarks while commenting on a statement made earlier on Wednesday by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that if Washington refuses to sell Patriot long-range air defense systems to Ankara, it could buy more S-400s from Russia.
Speaking to the Turkish NTV news channel, Cavusoglu said that if the United States implements its threat to cancel a deal for F-35 jets, Turkey could buy fighters from another source until it is able to produce its own.
Washington has criticized Turkey for the purchase of the Russian S-400 missiles and the Pentagon said last week that it had halted deliveries of F-35 fighter jet parts and manuals to Turkey.
Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday agreed to implement their contract to deliver S-400s to Turkey as planned.
The S-400 air defense missile system is considered the most advanced of its kind in Russia, capable of destroying targets at a distance of up to 400 km and a height of up to 30 km.