By Sumaila Zaman

Copyright india

Turkey acquired the S-400 air defense system from Russia prompting the United States to impose sanctions on Ankara and remove it from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program. According to the media reports Turkey has decided to return the S-400 to Russia to rejoin the F-35 program. Media Reports indicate that Turkey has had discussions with Russia about the return of the S-400 air defense system.
Who is involved in the S-400 deal between Russia and Turkey?
Russian media source Nefes claims that Russia is now reportedly attempting to sell back to Turkey the S-400 air defense system it sold in 2019. Turkey has not integrated the S-400 into its defense network and it has been kept in the same condition that it was delivered. Media reports further indicate that Russia is in a supply chain crisis and has been unable to continue producing the S-400. Due to this Russia has not been able to deliver the other two of the five S-400 systems it promised to India. The report claims that Russia wants to buy back the S-400 to sell to another country. Subsequently it has raised the question: could that country be India?
Nevertheless the Russian media outlet RIA Novosti stated that Moscow has not in fact submitted such an offer. Moreover Russian media indicated Dimitry Shugayev the Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FS) had indicated Moscow had indeed proposed comprehensive servicing for the S-400 which it also would be open to negotiations on military-technical cooperation. The challenge for Turkey however is that Greece plans to acquire F-35 fighter jets while Turkey cannot deploy the Russian S-400 in conjunction with Western fighter jets or any fusion of electronic warfare systems. As a result the S-400 has become a sore point for Turkey.
After returning to the White House Donald Trump offered Turkey the opportunity to come back into the F-35 program. However the United States specified that to have that opportunity to rejoin the F-35 program Turkey must dispose of the S-400 system. If Turkey is able to dispose of the S-400 system the opportunity of the F-35 program could again be open to it. However reports indicate that Turkey has already advocated in Washington and President Erdogan has also stated on several occasions that Turkey is still interested in returning to the F-35 program.
When could the S-400 be delivered to India if the deal goes through?
However neither Turkey nor Russia has officially verified those assertions. Experts suggest that deals or agreements of this kind usually happen behind closed doors. This scenario raises the question: if Russia does take the S-400 back from Turkey where will it end up? Some speculate perhaps India or even Pakistan. India has already signed a deal with Russia for five S-400 squadrons and has received three with two still to be delivered.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Turkey has not integrated the S-400 into its defense network
Russia has continually delayed the shipping dates.
Russia has not been able to deliver the other two of the five S-400 systems it promised to India.
Russia is now reportedly attempting to sell back to Turkey the S-400 air defense system.
On the other hand Russia has continually delayed the shipping dates. If Turkey sends the S-400 back to Moscow Russia could resume shipping to India in a situation like this. The context becomes more important as tensions with Pakistan have recently nudged India to expedite efforts to bolster its air defense network. While Pakistan’s name has been in speculation and acknowledging Russias deep defense partnerships are with India it seems unlikely that Moscow would send S-400s to Islamabad. Thus the more probable scenario is that the system once returned by Turkey would eventually reach India.