ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Norwegian foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it was lifting restrictions on the sale of arms to Turkey, nearly five years after imposing a ban because of Ankara’s military operation in northern Syria.
“The government has now decided to normalize its practice for exporting defense material and multi-purpose goods for military use to Turkey,” Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that this means lifting restrictions that were imposed in 2019 on arms exports to Turkey.
Several European countries halted arms exports to Turkey in reaction to a Turkish military campaign against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in October 2019. The offensive saw Ankara seize control of the Kurdish towns of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tel Abyad) in northern Syria.
Sweden and Finland lifted their bans in 2022 and 2023 when they were seeking Turkey’s approval to join NATO.
Ankara welcomed Norway’s decision. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his Norwegian counterpart in a phone call that such a ban was “not in line with the spirit of alliance,” Oncu Keceli, Turkish foreign ministry’s spokesperson, cited Fidan as saying.
The Turkish offensive in 2019 ended only after the United States and Russia intervened and signed two separate ceasefires with Turkey.
“The government has now decided to normalize its practice for exporting defense material and multi-purpose goods for military use to Turkey,” Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that this means lifting restrictions that were imposed in 2019 on arms exports to Turkey.
Several European countries halted arms exports to Turkey in reaction to a Turkish military campaign against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in October 2019. The offensive saw Ankara seize control of the Kurdish towns of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tel Abyad) in northern Syria.
Sweden and Finland lifted their bans in 2022 and 2023 when they were seeking Turkey’s approval to join NATO.
Ankara welcomed Norway’s decision. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his Norwegian counterpart in a phone call that such a ban was “not in line with the spirit of alliance,” Oncu Keceli, Turkish foreign ministry’s spokesperson, cited Fidan as saying.
The Turkish offensive in 2019 ended only after the United States and Russia intervened and signed two separate ceasefires with Turkey.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment