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Turkey considers French missile defence bid after restoring arms trade ties
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to restore military relations covering all arms deals with France, improving the chances of a French bid to fulfil a missile defence tender.
Relations became strained in December 2011 when the French parliament voted in favour of a law to make it illegal to deny the killings of Armenians in Turkeys predecessor the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
The country's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish media that the sanctions were lifted by the Prime Minister following a positive meeting with French president, Francois Hollande, during a world summit in Brazil.
The move is expected to enable European missile manufacturer Eurosam to compete for Turkeys nearly US$4 billion Long-Range Air and Missile Defence Systems (LORAMIDS) contract.
Eurosam, whose shareholders include MBDA, Finmeccanica, EADS and Thales, was never officially excluded from the competition, but the legislation made it unlikely for a contract award.
Other contenders include US companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin with a Patriot-based system, Russias Rosoboronexport with S-300 and S-400 systems, and China Precision Machinary Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) offering its HQ-9 system.
Turkeys top arms procurement body is expected to hold a meeting this month to finalise the winner of the LORAMIDS contract.
Turkey considers French missile defence bid after restoring arms trade ties :: Strategic Defence Intelligence