Turkey cancels $3.4bn missile deal with China
Turkey has cancelled a multi-billion-dollar deal with China to
build its first anti-missile system that had alarmed Ankara’s
allies in NATO, a Turkish official said on Sunday.
“The deal was cancelled,” the official from Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu’s office told AFP.
“One of the main reasons is that we will launch our own national
missile project,” added the official.
The news came as Turkey hosted key Western allies including
US President Barack Obama but also Chinese leader Xi Jinping
for the summit of G20 top economies in the Mediterranean
resort of Antalya.
Turkey entered negotiations in 2013 with the China Precision
Machinery Import-Export Corporation to finalise a contract
worth $3.4 billion (3 billion euros).
French-Italian consortium Eurosam and US-listed Raytheon Co
had also submitted offers but the government had prioritised
talks with the Chinese company, which raised serious concerns
over the compatibility of CPMIEC’s systems with NATO missile
defences.
NATO has said missile systems within the alliance must be
compatible with each other while calling on Turkey to take this
factor into account.
Turkish government sources said an official announcement was
expected next week.
A second Turkish official said the issue of technology transfer
was one of the major stumbling blocks in negotiations with the
Chinese company.
“They refused to give what we demanded,” the official told AFP,
without elaborating. “The talks were blocked at some point.”
Although the government’s current plans to build Turkish-made
missile defence system, it was not immediately clear if Ankara
would launch talks with the European and American contenders.
Washington was particularly irked by Turkish decision to
negotiate with the Chinese company, which has been hit by a
series of US sanctions for selling arms and missile technology
to Iran and Pakistan.
Turkey in the past made confusing comments over its lucrative
tender, with a government minister saying the Chinese company
was the winner and that its system could be used without
integrating with NATO systems.
But a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had
insisted that the missile system would be harmonious and
integrated with NATO defence architecture.
build its first anti-missile system that had alarmed Ankara’s
allies in NATO, a Turkish official said on Sunday.
“The deal was cancelled,” the official from Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu’s office told AFP.
“One of the main reasons is that we will launch our own national
missile project,” added the official.
The news came as Turkey hosted key Western allies including
US President Barack Obama but also Chinese leader Xi Jinping
for the summit of G20 top economies in the Mediterranean
resort of Antalya.
Turkey entered negotiations in 2013 with the China Precision
Machinery Import-Export Corporation to finalise a contract
worth $3.4 billion (3 billion euros).
French-Italian consortium Eurosam and US-listed Raytheon Co
had also submitted offers but the government had prioritised
talks with the Chinese company, which raised serious concerns
over the compatibility of CPMIEC’s systems with NATO missile
defences.
NATO has said missile systems within the alliance must be
compatible with each other while calling on Turkey to take this
factor into account.
Turkish government sources said an official announcement was
expected next week.
A second Turkish official said the issue of technology transfer
was one of the major stumbling blocks in negotiations with the
Chinese company.
“They refused to give what we demanded,” the official told AFP,
without elaborating. “The talks were blocked at some point.”
Although the government’s current plans to build Turkish-made
missile defence system, it was not immediately clear if Ankara
would launch talks with the European and American contenders.
Washington was particularly irked by Turkish decision to
negotiate with the Chinese company, which has been hit by a
series of US sanctions for selling arms and missile technology
to Iran and Pakistan.
Turkey in the past made confusing comments over its lucrative
tender, with a government minister saying the Chinese company
was the winner and that its system could be used without
integrating with NATO systems.
But a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had
insisted that the missile system would be harmonious and
integrated with NATO defence architecture.
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