Turkish president to discuss procurement of amphibious aircraft with Russian counterpart

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on July 13 that he expected to discuss the purchase of additional amphibious aircraft for extinguishing forest fires with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I hope we will discuss the issue of purchasing [from Russia] several additional amphibious aircraft with [Vladimir] Putin. This is because such airplanes are very effective in putting out fires," Erdogan said, TASS reports.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) under the Interior Ministry deals with natural disasters in the country, Erdogan noted. "We have just invested 100 mln lira ($3.82 mln) in firefighting measures. We purchased helicopters and airplanes. Airplanes are very effective; they can deliver water from the sea to the site of a fire in minutes. If we acquire two to three more aircraft, then our performance will be much higher," the president said.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry has dispatched Be-200 amphibious aircraft to Türkiye for several years in a row to assist AFAD in extinguishing wildfires.