The Kremlin said on Monday that talks with Saudi Arabia over Moscow supplying Riyadh with advanced S-400 air defense missile systems had gone well from Russia’s point of view so far, Reuters reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on a conference call with reporters, was responding to a question about whether a decision by the US State Department to approve the possible sale of a THAAD anti-missile defense system to Saudi Arabia might affect the Russian deal.
Peskov said the Kremlin could only offer its own assessment of how talks were progressing, but said preliminary negotiations on the deal had gone well.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Saudi Arabia’s King Salman for talks at the Kremlin last week, cementing a relationship that is pivotal for world oil prices and could decide the outcome of the conflict in Syria.
Peskov said Russia’s decision to offer the missiles to Riyadh was not aimed at any third party.