Russian Ambassador to Morocco Says No Moscow-Rabat Talks on S-400 Purchase in Progress

RABAT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) Despite Morocco's interest in purchasing Russian military products, Moscow and Rabat are not currently engaged in talks regarding possible deliveries of Russia's S-400 missile systems, Russian Ambassador to Morocco Valerian Shuvaev told Sputnik in an interview.

In November, US media reported that at least 13 countries, including Morocco, were interested in acquiring Russian S-400s.

"There are currently no talks on S-400 specifically since, first of all, you should understand that it is a very complex system. In order to deploy such an air defense system an extensive preparation process and understanding why [the systems are needed] are required," Shuvaev said.

The diplomat indicated that important issues such as these required much consideration.

"In general, our Moroccan friends show interest in Russian military production, and we are ready [to cooperate], we offer what we have. We are open to such a cooperation. We have no limits with regard to defense industry cooperation, particularly with Morocco. These issues depend on the Moroccan party to a large extent," Shuvaev indicated.

The S-400 is a next-generation mobile missile system that can carry three different types of missiles capable of destroying a variety of aerial targets at a short-to-extremely-long range, from reconnaissance aircraft to ballistic missiles.