The UK government expects Turkey, as a NATO ally, to refrain from buying or operating Russian military equipment, such as the S400 air defence system, a British Defence Minister has reiterated in a letter to the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus.
The letter to Sir Roger Gale by Minister Jeremy Quinn was a response to previous relevant communication by both the veteran Conservative MP and the leaders of the organised Greek Cypriot, Armenian, Kurdish and Egyptian diasporas in the UK.
Quinn noted the longstanding bilateral defence relationship between the UK and Turkey, but stated that the British government has told Turkey “many times” that their procurement of Russian S400 systems “is a threat to NATO interoperability” as well as “incompatible with Allied systems”.
The Defence Minister added that the UK will continue to urge Turkey to meet NATO commitments.
With regard to the halted export licences for British arms to Turkey, decided late last year due to fears they might be used in Syria, the letter has made clear that every application is examined on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated Criteria, which prohibit the sale of arms if there is concern they could be used in violation of human rights and the international humanitarian law.