Russia may establish a military base in Turkey within the sale and purchase agreements signed regarding Russian S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems

Russia may establish a military base in Turkey within the sale and purchase agreements signed regarding Russian S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems, the Turkish media reported Dec. 14. The Russian military base in Turkey may be created until 2019.

According to the report, Director General of Russia's Rostec corporation Sergei Chemezon affirmed that S-400 systems will be delivered to Turkey by 2019 and that a military-technical cooperation agreement will be signed with Ankara. Although it is not certain yet whether this agreement covers only the sales of the defence system, Russia may condition a military base installation in Turkey before the delivery of the defence system.

The first two missiles are to be deployed on the Syrian border in the Mediterranean, and the others are to be deployed for the defence of the Marmara-Egean-Blacksea line.

Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday stated that Ankara and Moscow have reached an agreement on the payment except for a few details and that the agreement may be signed nowadays.

S-400 air defence systems will be maintained by the Turkish engineers, but the Russian experts may assist in the systems' deployment, Çavuşoğlu added. He denied that a Russian military deployment in Turkey is on the agenda, affirming that it will cover a technical mission.

"We will train our own personnel, comprising both civilians and military, in order to deploy and then operate S-400. But if necessary we will engage Russian experts, both military and civilians. It does not mean that they will stay in Turkey,” he told reporters.

Russia-Turkey S-400 deal has caused tensions with NATO recently as a top NATO official warned Turkey that the deal will have "consequences."