The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide had a phone call with his counterpart Hakan Fidan on Wednesday and announced that Oslo lifted defense-industry-related restrictions on Türkiye in place since 2019.
Ministry’s spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said in a social media post that Fidan expressed Türkiye’s pleasure with the decision and underlined that such restrictions have contradicted the spirit of alliance.
The country has joined others including Finland in imposing restrictions on Türkiye after Ankara launched cross-border counterterrorism operations in neighboring Syria. The operations’ target was the YPG, a wing of the terrorist group PKK, which also happens to be a partner of the United States under the guise of joint fight against Daesh. Like the U.S., Norway is a NATO ally with Türkiye.
Türkiye’s defense imports were already significantly reduced when Norway joined Finland and the Netherlands in restriction of exports to Türkiye. Ankara today boasts a growing arsenal of locally-made defense products, from unmanned aerial vehicles to infantry rifles.
Oslo and Ankara maintained good relations, especially on economy and commerce but the issue has long been a thorn in ties, along with a 2021 diplomatic crisis when the Norwegian ambassador joined other envoys in a call for the release of a suspect accused of plotting the notorious 2013 Gezi Park riots in Türkiye. Türkiye, however, praised Norway for its stance on the Palestine-Israel conflict when Oslo joined the few European countries to recognize the State of Palestine in May.
Although it is becoming increasingly self-reliant in defense needs, Türkiye still strives to restore defense ties with “allies” blocking its purchase of defense products, such as the United States, which long thwarted acquisition of F-35 fighter jets and Germany dragging its feet on a Eurofighter deal.
