Statement from Minister Garneau to announce the cancellation of export permits to Turkey

April 12, 2021 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada 

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs today issued the following statement:

“Last fall, in line with our robust export control regime, the Government of Canada suspended export permits for military goods and technology to Turkey pending the results of an investigation into allegations that Canadian technology was being used by Azerbaijan in the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Those suspensions followed the decision to suspend the issuance of new export permits to Turkey in the fall of 2019, following its military incursion into northeastern Syria.

“Global Affairs Canada, in consultation with the Department of National Defence, has since conducted a thorough review of all suspended and valid export permits for all military goods and technology destined to Turkey. 

“Following this review, which found credible evidence that Canadian technology exported to Turkey was used in Nagorno-Karabakh, today I am announcing the cancellation of permits that were suspended in the fall of 2020.

“This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey.

“This morning, I spoke with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to reiterate Canada’s concern and to initiate a dialogue mechanism between Canadian and Turkish officials to build mutual confidence and greater cooperation on export permits to ensure consistency with end-use assurances before any further permits for military goods and technology (Group 2) are issued.

“Turkey is an important NATO ally and applications related to NATO cooperation programs will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.“

• Final Report – Review of Export Permits to Turkey