Canada to Re-start Türkiye Arms Exports after Sweden NATO Backing

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a press conference during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a press conference during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
TT
20

Canada to Re-start Türkiye Arms Exports after Sweden NATO Backing

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a press conference during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a press conference during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Canada and Türkiye have reached a deal to restart Canadian exports of drone parts in exchange for more transparency on where they are used, and it would take effect after Ankara completes its ratification of Sweden's NATO bid, two sources told Reuters.
After 20 months of delay, Türkiye moved swiftly this week to endorse Sweden's membership in the western military alliance, including a parliamentary vote and presidential sign-off, leaving Hungary as the sole ally yet to ratify it.
Türkiye is expected to send the final documents to Washington as soon as Friday, which would clear the way for Canada to immediately lift the export controls that it adopted in 2020, the two sources said, requesting anonymity.
The agreement was reached in early January after months of talks, said one person familiar with the process. A second person familiar with the plan said the sides agreed it would take effect after Sweden's ratification was complete.
Türkiye’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod told Reuters that while the export controls currently remained in place, Ottawa aimed to resolve the issue with Türkiye given its status as a NATO ally.
"Canada and Türkiye continue to engage in frank exchanges on our bilateral, economic and commercial relations," she said.
Sweden's lengthy bid process frustrated some NATO members over what they viewed as Türkiye’s transactional approach, which led to concessions from Stockholm and other allies regarding arms exports and counterterrorism measures.
US leaders have said Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden's NATO membership clears the way for Ankara's long-sought purchase of US F-16 fighter jets.
Canada suspended drone technology sales to Türkiye in 2020 after concluding its optical equipment attached to Turkish-made drones had been used by Azerbaijan while fighting ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno Karabakh, an enclave Baku has since retaken.
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, Reuters reported at the time.
END-USER TRANSPARENCY
Under the agreement, Ankara would provide Ottawa information on the end-users of Canadian-made equipment, especially if re-exported to non-NATO members, the sources said.
The "notification process", standard under the international arms trade, covers Wescam sensors used in Türkiye’s Bayraktar TB2 drones and other dual-use goods and arms-related exports.
The first source said the deal improves transparency and communication between the sides and aims to avoid disagreement as in 2021, when Canada said Azerbaijan's use of the camera equipment violated Türkiye’s end-user assurances.
Ankara has repeatedly criticized export controls as contrary to the spirit of the NATO alliance. In the past it also faced trade embargoes by France, Germany and Sweden over tensions in the eastern Mediterranean and its operations in northern Syria.
While Ankara has called on Canada to lift the restrictions, it has also said that it will soon be able to produce the drone parts it imports, including optical equipment, on its own. Several countries, including Ukraine, Ethiopia and Pakistan, have bought Turkish drones after their battlefield successes.
On Tuesday, Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry said it hosted Canada's associate deputy foreign minister, Cindy Termorshuizen, for talks on "regional and international issues", without elaborating.
On Friday, President Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden was welcomed by "Canada, Sweden, and all Western countries", and was viewed as a source of strength within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Under NATO rules, Türkiye must deposit the final document - the instrument of ratification - at the US State Department archives to complete its Sweden ratification.
Canada was the first NATO country to ratify the entry bid Sweden made in 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.



Arrests Made in Türkiye over Calls for Shopping Boycott to Support Istanbul's Imprisoned Mayor

Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
TT
20

Arrests Made in Türkiye over Calls for Shopping Boycott to Support Istanbul's Imprisoned Mayor

Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish police detained 11 people Thursday for supporting a shopping boycott as part of protests against the imprisonment of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, state-run media reported.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 16 suspects in an investigation into “hatred and discrimination” and “inciting hatred and hostility” among the public, the Anadolu news agency said.

Among the detained was actor Cem Yigit Uzumoglu, who played Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in the Netflix docuseries “Rise of Empires: Ottoman,” the Actors’ Union said.

The suspects were held over social media posts calling on people to not to spend money on Wednesday and for businesses to shut their doors in solidarity during the daylong boycott, The AP news reported.

Large-scale anti-government protests began last month after the arrest of Istanbul's opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges that critics say are politically motivated. The government insists the judiciary is independent and free of political interference.

Istanbul prosecutors on Tuesday launched a criminal investigation into earlier boycott calls by Imamoglu’s party targeting companies it alleges support the government. In particular, the opposition identified media firms that did not air images of protests in which hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets to call for Imamoglu’s release and an end to democratic backsliding.

The leader of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party, or CHP, issued a warning after authorities blocked social media accounts supporting Wednesday's boycott.

“We know that you have closed hundreds of pages to date,” Ozgur Ozel wrote on X. “If you become a tool for anti-democratic practices today, if you implement access ban demands, think carefully about what this nation will do to you!”

While in prison, Imamoglu has been confirmed as the CHP's presidential candidate. The next election is currently scheduled for 2028 but is likely to take place earlier.

According to the independent ANKA News Agency, some 2,000 people have been detained since Imamoglu was arrested on March 19, with 316 jailed pending trial. Most face charges relating to participating in protests.

Lawyers for imprisoned protesters on Wednesday said many had suffered mistreatment. The government has not responded to the allegations but on Thursday the police issued a statement denying claims that women had been sexually assaulted in custody as “vile slanders.”