Turkey tells Finland it expects obstacles to defense exports to be lifted

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a phone call with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö on Monday said that Turkey expects the obstacles preventing the export of military equipment to be lifted “amid a time when the significance of cooperation in the field of defense industry has increased.”

The two leaders discussed bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues, including the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Erdoğan said that Turkey continues to push for humanitarian corridors to be opened and a cease-fire to be declared.

Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted millions of civilians. Turkey says it can facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but says that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.

Ankara also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya earlier this month. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met in the Turkish resort town of Antalya for talks, which Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara considers the fact that they took place at all a success.

Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.

Erdoğan also welcomed that the Turkey-Finland Economic and Trade Joint Committee will be held in June in Ankara.