German-Turkish relations
Arms exports to Turkey at their highest level since 2006
For years, hardly any arms exports to NATO partner Türkiye were approved. That has changed significantly in the last few months.
The federal government has already approved arms exports to Turkey for 230.8 million euros this year – more than ever since 2006. This included war weapons for 79.7 million euros and other armaments for 151.1 million euros. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics to a request from BSW MP Sevim Dagdelen, which was submitted to the German Press Agency.
Arms deliveries to NATO partner Türkiye are controversial because of the human rights situation there, but also because of the international actions of the government in Ankara. After Turkish troops invaded Syria in 2016, export permits were significantly reduced and in recent years have only been in the low double-digit or even single-digit million range.
The figures now published reflect a change of course in recent months. At the end of September, Green Party politician Robert Habeck’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that torpedoes, guided missiles and components for submarines had again been approved for Turkey on a larger scale.
Scholz calls deliveries to Türkiye “a given”
Shortly afterwards, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) defended the deliveries during a visit to Istanbul. “Turkey is a member of NATO, and that’s why we always make decisions to make specific deliveries. That’s a given,” he said after a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Scholz was even open to the delivery of Eurofighter fighter jets, which Germany is involved in producing. He pointed out that discussions about this were taking place between Great Britain and Turkey. This is something that “will be driven forward from there”.
BSW politician Dagdelen speaks of a “fatal signal”
The BSW politician Dagdelen, however, sharply criticized the increase in export permits for Turkey: “In view of Ankara’s ongoing attacks against its neighbors Iraq and Syria, which violate international law, the extreme arms exports by the SPD and the Greens are a fatal signal.”
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
