CANADIAN anti-war campaigners have welcomed a government decision to cancel export permits to Turkey for drone technology because components had been “unlawfully diverted” for use in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said on Monday that the government had acted after a review found “credible evidence” that Canadian-made components had been used by Azerbaijan during the six-week conflict late last year.
“This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey,” he said.
Mr Garneau said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to try to build greater co-operation on export permits.
“Turkey is an important Nato ally, and applications related to Nato co-operation programmes will be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” he said.