Germany approved more than 30 defence industry deals with the Turkish AKP government in December and January, the German Ministry of Economy said.
"From 18 December to 24 January 2018, 31 permits were issued for military equipment to Turkey," the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in reply to a parliamentary question from politician Sevim Dağdelen.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, inter alia, military equipment with code numbers covering the areas of bombs / torpedoes / missiles / missiles, fire control and monitoring systems, land vehicles, ships and marine equipment, aeronautical and electronic equipment, as well as special purpose tanks and related parts and equipment, has been approved.
"THERE WERE NO DEALS RELATED TO YÜCEL'S RELEASE"
Journalist Deniz Yücel was released in Turkey in the middle of this month after a one-year pre-trial detention. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel assured several times thereafter that Berlin had promised nothing in return. "There were no clean or dirty deals related to Yücel's release," he said.
According to Spiegel Online, after months of negotiations, an effort at mediation by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and two secret meetings between German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish government had finally released Deniz Yücel.
RHEINMETALL AND BMC SEALED AN AGREEMENT IN JANUARY
Arms deals between Germany and Turkey have been a source of tension after the former said last month that it would halt the modernization of Leopard 2 tanks. Despite the little predicament in the Leopard 2 deal, it was revealed with the report by the German ministry that the two countries have been doing business as usual. Also recently, Stern, a German magazine, claimed that German defence company Rheinmetall and Turkish firm BMC already sealed an agreement on Jan. 9 in Düsseldorf.
"BMC is said to have concluded an agreement with its German partners to jointly modernize Leopard tanks from German production, which are now in the service of the Turkish military. Rheinmetall will supply the technology for this and BMC will help with the work on site. The goal: To protect the tanks better from bullets and mines," the Stern article said.
