A senior Turkish official has said the United Kingdom has lifted all restrictions on arms exports to Turkey. This statement comes a few hours before conversations to be held by Turkish President Erdogan with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“I felt that the positive steps promised earlier had been taken and implemented and lifted, especially with regard to some of the restrictions imposed on the Turkey“Said Ismail Demir, head of the Turkish Presidency of Industries (SSB).
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Tsavousoglou said last month that London was lifting the ban as contacts between the two governments intensified amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Tsavousoglu also hinted that Canada also aims to ease its embargo.
The British government announced in December that it would resume exports, but said new export licenses would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It had stopped exporting to Turkey after its military operation to clear northern Syria of the PKK terrorist organization in 2019.
The United Kingdom has also expressed interest in buying Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles, which UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace described as a “game changer”.
The embargoed components included unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) camera systems manufactured by Baykar. Export licenses were suspended in 2019 during Turkish military operations in Syria. Restrictions were then eased but re-imposed during the Karabakh conflict.
Daily Sabah
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