Canada to resume arms exports to Turkiye after Sweden's support for NATO membership
Canada will resume arms exports to Turkiye (photo: flickr.com/ciska_van_geer)
Canada and Turkiye have reached an agreement on the resumption of Ottawa's export of drone components in exchange for increased transparency regarding their usage. The deal is set to take effect following Ankara's completion of the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession request, reports Reuters.
Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod announced that while the export controls currently remained in place, Ottawa aimed to resolve the issue with Turkiye given its status as a NATO ally.
"Canada and Turkiye continue to engage in frank exchanges on our bilateral, economic and commercial relations," she stated.
Canada suspended the sale of drones and components to Turkiye in 2020 after determining that the optical equipment attached to Turkish-made drones was used by Azerbaijan during hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ottawa halted talks on lifting them in 2022 when Ankara raised objections to both Finland and Sweden's NATO bids. But it re-started talks after a NATO leaders summit in July last year.
According to the new agreement, Turkiye will provide Canada with information on the end-users of Canadian-made equipment, especially if re-exported to non-NATO members.
What preceded this
On Tuesday, January 23, the Turkish Parliament ratified Sweden's application for NATO membership. Now, Hungary remains the only NATO member country that has not yet made a decision.
It is emphasized that Sweden's NATO accession is expected in approximately one and a half years. Stockholm had initially planned to join the Alliance alongside Finland, but Finland joined NATO in June 2023, and Sweden's application was ratified by all NATO countries except Turkiye and Hungary.
