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Canada Drops Weapons Export Controls to Türkiye, Including Drone Technology

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)
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Canada Drops Weapons Export Controls to Türkiye, Including Drone Technology

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)

Canada on Monday said it had dropped weapons export controls to Türkiye, including drone optical technology, according to a notice posted online, saying that from now on it would review all exports on a case-by-case basis.
Canada suspended drone technology sales to Türkiye, a fellow member of NATO, 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.
Canada had linked resolving the export freeze with Türkiye’s welcoming of Sweden into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it did last week.
Ottawa's announcement on Monday confirms a Reuters exclusive published last week.
Under the agreement to restart exports, Türkiye will clearly indicate whether the items will be re-exported or transferred to a non-NATO country, with the exception of Ukraine, and in what form the item will be re-exported, the statement said.
Canada will examine each export on case-by-case basis and said it can cancel permits at any time if there is misuse, the statement said.
The notification process, which is 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 Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) condemns the recent decision by the Government of Canada to lift its longstanding arms embargo on Türkiye," the group said in a statement online.
"This decision has raised alarming concerns within the Armenian-Canadian community, as it compromises Canada's commitment to human rights, international security, and justice."

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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

Georgia's president called for protests on Monday following a disputed parliamentary election, and the United States and the European Union urged a full investigation into reports of violations in the voting.
The results, with almost all precincts counted, were a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast Saturday's election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe, said Reuters.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but they stopped short of saying the election was rigged.
President Salome Zourabichvili urged people to take to the streets to protest against the results of the ballot, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.
In an address on Sunday, she referred to the result as a "Russian special operation". She did not clarify what she meant by the term.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, of which Zourabichvili is a fierce critic, clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the outcome and vote monitors reported significant violations.
Georgian media cited Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as saying on Monday that the opposition was attempting to topple the "constitutional order" and that his government remained committed to European integration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States joined calls from observers for a full probe.
"Going forward, we encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
"The EU recalls that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed," the European Commission said in a joint statement with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
President Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, urged Georgians to protest in the center of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening, to show the world "that we do not recognize these elections".
For years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls showing many Georgians disliking Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
Russia defeated Georgia in their brief war over the rebel province of South Ossetia in 2008.
The election result poses a challenge to the EU's ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
Moldova earlier this month narrowly approved adding a clause to the constitution defining EU accession as a goal. Moldovan officials said Russia meddled in the election, a claim denied by Moscow.