The Turkiye newspaper reported on April 15 citing an unnamed source that Ankara was ready to sell its weapons and drones to all countries
Apr. 21, 2021
MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Russia will scrutinize the prospect of military and technical cooperation with Turkey, if Ankara delivers drones to Ukraine, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin’s annual State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly.
“We will look [at the prospect] specifically in each individual case,” the vice premier told reporters, responding to a question about whether Russia would suspend military-technical cooperation with Turkey, if Ankara delivered drones to Ukraine.
The Turkiye newspaper reported on April 15 citing an unnamed source that Ankara was ready to sell its weapons and drones to all countries, including Russia. The source noted that Ankara might sell the armament “after negotiations and upon reaching mutually acceptable terms” as drones “are not aimed against Russia or any other country.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on April 12, commenting on the reports of Ankara selling drones to Kiev, that Moscow urged responsible countries, including Turkey, “to analyze the situation and Kiev regime’s unending bellicose statements” and cautioned them against fueling these militaristic aspirations.
In 2019, Ukraine purchased and tested Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), planning to equip them with MAM-L smart micro munitions produced by the Turkish company Roketsan.
Director General of Ukraine’s Ukrspetsexport company Vadim Nozdrya said in October 2020 that Kiev was interested in the joint production of Bayraktar TB2 drones in Ukraine and that Ukrainian army planned to purchase 48 such UAVs.
Published at tass.com
