Canada resumes arms exports to Turkey after Ankara supports Sweden's accession to NATO
Kyiv • UNN
Canada and Turkey have reached an agreement to resume Canadian exports of drone components to Turkey in exchange for greater transparency in their use. This happened after Ankara finalized the ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO.
Canada and Turkey have reached an agreement to resume Canadian exports of drone components in exchange for greater transparency on where they are used. The agreement will come into force after Ankara finalizes the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership application. This was reported by two Reuters sources, UNN reported.
Details
Turkey is expected to submit final documents on Sweden as early as Friday, allowing Canada to immediately lift the export controls it imposed in 2020, according to two sources who requested anonymity.
The agreement was reached in early January after months of negotiations. The Turkish Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Charlotte MacLeod told Reuters that while export controls remain in place, Ottawa is seeking to resolve the problem with Turkey, given its status as a NATO ally.
Canada and Turkey continue to have a frank exchange of views on our bilateral, economic and commercial relations
U.S. leaders say Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership paves the way for Ankara's long-awaited purchase of U.S. F-16 fighter jets.
Context
In 2020, Canada suspended the sale of drone technology to Turkey after concluding that its optical equipment connected to Turkish-made drones had been used by Azerbaijan in the fight against ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.
