German veto on arms exports to Turkey ‘unacceptable’: Minister

ANKARA

It is unacceptable that Germany, an ally of Turkey, has passed a veto on arms exports to Turkey, the defense minister said March 23. 

“It is unacceptable that two allied countries are creating such difficulties for one another,” Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık said March 23 in Ankara during a reception on Pakistan’s national holiday. 
He said Turkey wanted the two countries, which have “very strong commercial and social relations” to avoid such “problems.” 

He called on Germany to act with “reason.” 

His remarks came over a recent report in a German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, on March 21 that Germany had refused an unusually high number of requests for arms exports to Turkey in recent months due to mounting concerns about deteriorating human rights in the NATO country. 

The report cited an Economy Ministry’s written response to a question by leftist lawmaker Jan van Aken, in which the ministry said it had rejected 11 requests for arms exports to Turkey since November last year.

According to German government figures, the federal government rejected 11 individual arms shipments starting in November 2016, compared to only eight rejections in total between 2010 and 2015, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. 

The most recent refusals involved weapons, ammunition and parts for the manufacture of certain armaments.