Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the removal of restrictions on the defense industry among NATO allies. He made this statement at the opening of the Alliance summit in Ankara, BTA reports.
Erdogan stressed the need for greater cooperation between member states in the field of defense industry and said that allies should facilitate access to technology, production and supply of military equipment.
According to him, restrictions between partners within NATO are not in line with the spirit of allied relations and can slow down the development of common defense capabilities.
The Turkish president's appeal comes against the backdrop of increased interest in the development of the defense industry within the framework of the summit, where among the main topics are increasing defense spending, modernization of the armed forces and expanding the production capacity of allies.
Turkey places particular emphasis on its role in the defense sector, having developed its own production of unmanned systems, combat equipment and other military technologies in recent years. Ankara has insisted that its companies participate more actively in joint projects of NATO and European countries.