SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Sweden allows military exports to Turkey after NATO application
Stockholm, Sept 30 (AFP) Sep 30, 2022
The Swedish authority tasked with controlling exports of war materials said Friday it had authorised military exports to Turkey, after blocking them in 2019.

Ankara requested the lifting of the restrictions after Sweden applied to join NATO in mid-May, which still needs ratification from Turkey.

"The government has made the assessment that a Swedish membership in NATO is the best way to protect Sweden's and the Swedish people's security," the Inspectorate of Strategic Products said in a statement.

The ISP decided to block military exports to Turkey in 2019, following a Turkish military offensive in northeastern Syria.

"Sweden's application for NATO membership to a large degree strengthen the defence and security policy arguments for approving exports of war materials to other member states, including Turkey," the authority said.

The ISP said it had approved exports relating to "electronic equipment," "software" and "technical assistance" to Turkey in the third quarter.

To date, 28 out of the 30 NATO member states have ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland. Only Hungary and Turkey remain, but new members to the alliance require unanimous approval.

Stockholm and Helsinki, which both reversed decades of non-alignment when they applied for membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, had expected the application process to be quick, as they had received assurances they would be welcomed "with open arms".

But objections from Ankara, which accuses Finland and Sweden of providing a safe haven for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) listed as a "terrorist" group by Turkey and its Western allies, caught them off guard.

Even after Sweden and Finland were formally invited, Ankara has insisted it could still block entry into the Western alliance if it feels the Nordic countries fail to deliver on their promises.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Conservation leaders join passenger lineup for Blue Origin NS-33 suborbital launch
Kinetica 2 engine test hits milestone with successful multi-engine trial
Volcanic discovery at Jezero Crater could reshape timeline of Mars

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Shape shifting perovskite materials show promise for LEDs and solar power
Molecular relay structure enables faster photon upconversion for solar and medical use
Decarbonizing steel is as tough as steel

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Muon Space secures $146 million to scale satellite manufacturing and defense constellations
Trump's Golden Dome rethinks defense against long-range threats
Portugal expands space capabilities with ICEYE SAR satellite acquisition

24/7 News Coverage
Space lasers, AI used by geospatial scientist to measure forest biomass
Macron to Greenland in show of support after Trump threats
Macron, on Greenland visit, berates Trump for threats against the territory



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.