Türkiye urged NATO members Tuesday to eliminate defense trade restrictions and sanctions among allies, arguing that closer industrial cooperation is essential to strengthening military readiness and collective security.
"We must work together to eliminate trade restrictions and sanctions in the defense sector among allies," Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz told the NATO Defense Industry Forum ahead of a gathering of NATO’s leaders in Ankara.
"If we want to enhance the alliance’s level of military readiness and strengthen our collective security, we must work together to remove these senseless sanctions and restrictions from the table."
For much of the past two decades, Ankara has expressed frustration over its Western allies' failure to provide adequate defense systems against missile threats despite Türkiye being a major NATO member.
Ahead of the NATO summit, its top officials reiterated that defense trade restrictions between NATO allies must be removed and expressed strong interest in joining Europe's defense initiatives.
