Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that NATO allies must lift defense-industry restrictions among them, pressing the case for Ankara to break into some Europe-only initiatives.“Restrictions among allies on defense cooperation, especially in the defense industry, must be lifted,” Erdogan told the opening of a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“At a time when a model of cooperation based on common sense and reason is possible, excluding allies that are not members of the (European) Union would lead to artificial divisions in Europe.”On Tuesday US President Donald Trump, sitting alongside Erdogan, said he would lift sanctions off Turkey and make a decision on a potential sale of F-35s to it. Both decisions are likely to face resistance from Congress.Turkey has NATO’s second-largest army and has emerged as a big developer and exporter of arms. Though Ankara has repeatedly said it wants to join European security initiatives like the SAFE funding scheme, so far it has been kept at arm’s length due to political and policy differences.Erdogan said Turkey was on track to reach NATO’s 5 percent defense spending target by the country’s 2030 goal, and that it has allocated a $24-billion additional budget for its “Steel Dome” air defense project to boost NATO’s air and missile defenses.He added that allies must take more responsibility in bloc defense without hindering alliance unity.Read more: Turkey ready to help demine Strait of Hormuz: Erdogan