Canada drops ban on drone parts export to Türkiye

OTTAWA

Canada announced Monday it would no longer bar certain arms exports to Türkiye, a move that comes approximately a week after Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO membership.

Permits for military items and certain types of weapons destined for Türkiye "will now be reviewed on a case-by-case basis," the Canadian government said in a notice to exporters.

It declared that the denial policy on exports was "no longer in place."

Canada halted sales of drone technology to Türkiye in 2020 after learning that Azerbaijan had utilized its optical equipment on Turkish-made drones to combat ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh, an area that Baku has since retaken.

The export ban affected some 30 permits and applied to a wide variety of military goods and technologies, including components for the production of aircraft, software and technical data for flight simulators, satellite equipment, and firearm components.

Canada will now require that Turkish importers provide assurances about the weapons' use as well as a government statement "clearly indicating whether the items will be re-exported or transferred to a non-NATO country."

Canada additionally "has broad authority to suspend or cancel permits," the notice said.

The move comes less than a week after Türkiye's parliament ratified Sweden's membership in the NATO defense alliance, following initial objections and more than a year of delays.

After Ankara's ratification, the U.S. government approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Türkiye.