DefenceTalkTurkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed deepening defence industry cooperation with Russia during talks with his counterpart Vladimir Putin this week, the Turkish leader was quoted as saying Thursday. Erdogan and Putin held their first face-to-face talks in 18 months in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday, with the Syrian conflict high on […]

DefenceTalkThe United States has cancelled this week’s planned deployment of two warships to the Black Sea, Turkish officials and media said Wednesday, amid high tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Turkish diplomatic sources said the passage of the first ship through the Bosphorus due on Wednesday did not take place. Anadolu state news agency said both […]

DefenceTalkWhether in Syria, Libya or Azerbaijan, Turkey’s combat drones have scored high-profile successes that Ankara hopes to use in its quest to become a premier exporter of the aerial vehicles. Besides their proven ability to take out enemy tanks, analysts said drones also offer Turkey a chance to beef up its spheres of influence through […]

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTurkey has hired an international law firm to help it win back its spot in the US-led F-35 fighter jet program, state media reported on Friday. The six-month contract with Arnold & Porter — worth a reported $750,000 (620,000 euros) — comes as Turkey seeks to find a solution with US President Joe Biden over […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-hires-law-firm-to-lobby-biden-over-f-35-jets-report-76782/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkUS President Joe Biden’s administration said Friday it wants Turkey to renounce a major Russian missile defense system it controversially bought in 2019, holding the line set by Donald Trump’s government, which imposed rare sanctions on the NATO ally. “Our position has not changed,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “We urge Turkey not to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/biden-maintains-tough-line-on-turkey-over-russia-arms-76773/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe United States strongly condemned NATO ally Turkey on Friday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the first test of a Russian-made S-400 air defense system and dismissed US criticism. “The US Department of Defense condemns in the strongest possible terms Turkey’s October 16 test of the S-400 air defense system — a test […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-condemns-turkey-s-400-test-erdogan-dismisses-us-criticism-76525/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkA major supplier of arms to Azerbaijan, Israel has come under diplomatic fire from Armenia over the struggle between the Caucasus neighbours in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia, a country long-seen as close to Israel’s nemesis Iran, only opened an embassy in Tel Aviv on September 17, but Yerevan recalled its ambassador barely two weeks later, citing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-under-diplomatic-fire-over-arms-to-azerbaijan-76430/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkAt least 24 people have died after deadly clashes between arch foes Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the latest violence in the decades-long territorial dispute sparked international calls Sunday to halt the fighting. The worst skirmishes since 2016 have raised the spectre of a fresh war between the ex-Soviet rivals, locked since the early 1990s in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dozens-dead-as-world-leaders-urge-halt-to-azerbaijan-armenia-clashes-76418/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkGreece’s defence minister on Wednesday dismissed reports that his country would spend 10 billion euros on an arms overhaul announced at the weekend. “It’s not a 10-billion-euro spending spree, let me make that very clear. It’s a series of very calculated, prioritised, smart moves addressing our needs to the maximum,” Nikos Panagiotopoulos told an Economist […]https://www.defencetalk.com/greek-arms-spending-will-not-cost-10-billion-euros-minister-76339/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTurkey on Friday accused Greece of shunning dialogue and lying by denying it had signed up to NATO-brokered talks aimed at avoiding accidents between their navies in the eastern Mediterranean. NATO allies Turkey and Greece are at loggerheads over energy riches, with overlapping maritime border claims and escalating tensions. A Greek frigate collided with a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-accuses-greece-of-shunning-east-med-talks-76256/