Canada announced yesterday that it is suspending arms exports to Turkey and will consider whether the latter is delivering Canadian military equipment to Azerbaijan.

“In line of Canada’s robust export control regime and due to the ongoing hostilities, I have suspended the relevant export permits to Turkey so as to allow time to better assess the situation,” Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

The minister recalled that he had ordered an investigation following allegations that Canadian technology was being used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

According to Canadian media, in May Ottawa authorized Canadian company L3Harris Wescam to export imaging and targeting systems to a Turkish drone company. Azerbaijan is reportedly using drones, produced by the Turkish company Baykar, in the clashes that have been going on for more than a week in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Canada suspended military exports to Turkey a year ago following Ankara’s military intervention in northern Syria targeting Kurdish rebels. In May, however, exports resumed.

“We call for measures to be taken immediately to stabilize the situation and reiterate that there is no alternative to a peaceful negotiated solution to this conflict,” he said.

In line with 🇨🇦’s robust export control regime and the ongoing investigation, I have suspended the relevant export permits to #Turkey.

🇨🇦 calls for measures to be taken immediately to stop the violence and protect civilians. pic.twitter.com/mCLmjWKq4G

— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) October 5, 2020

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