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Turkey is keen to expand defence industrial cooperation with India and will offer its armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to India during the upcoming visit of President Erdogan, said Ilnur Cevik, senior adviser to the Turkish President on Saturday.
He also indicated that Turkey’s support to Pakistan on Kashmir at the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) is likely to continue.
The statement comes at a time when the President of Cyrus Nicos Anastasiades is in India on a bilateral visit. “A defence cooperation agreement has to be signed. It is in the offing and a draft is being prepared. The head of defence industry of Turkey is part of the delegation,” Mr. Cevik told The Hindu on the sidelines of a discussion at the Observer Research Foundation.
However, discussions would be held during the visit and there is no timeline on the conclusion yet.
Mr. Cevik said that the areas of cooperation are aviation, space and ammunition etc. “India is strong in aviation and space... We produce armoured personal carriers. Some of the ammunition we need can be procured from India... We can introduce India to our successful drones. We have produced drones which are identifying and killing Kurdistan Workers Party terrorists. They would be discussed,” he said. India has been keen on acquiring armed drones for sometime and is very close to procuring the Heron-T UAVs from Israel.
To questions on Pakistan’s continued support on Kashmir, Mr. Cevik pointed that India too had voted in favour of Cyprus at the United Nations, and said international issues should not be mixed up.
On Kashmir issue
On Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism and Kashmir, he said the issue was for the two countries to discuss.
“On Kashmir, don’t pull us into the kind of problems between India and Pakistan. We are trying to build our relationship with India. You have to sit and solve the problems, but this does not mean that once we have achieved a strong relationship, we will not be an innocent bystander. It means the kind leverage on our side, he said speaking at the discussion on India-Turkey relations,” he stated.
Stating that Turkey was trying to promote its relations with India, while its brotherly ties with Pakistan continued, Mr. Cevik added, “We are trying to rediscover old friends.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/turkey-offers-drones-for-india/article18312605.ece
He also indicated that Turkey’s support to Pakistan on Kashmir at the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) is likely to continue.
The statement comes at a time when the President of Cyrus Nicos Anastasiades is in India on a bilateral visit. “A defence cooperation agreement has to be signed. It is in the offing and a draft is being prepared. The head of defence industry of Turkey is part of the delegation,” Mr. Cevik told The Hindu on the sidelines of a discussion at the Observer Research Foundation.
However, discussions would be held during the visit and there is no timeline on the conclusion yet.
Mr. Cevik said that the areas of cooperation are aviation, space and ammunition etc. “India is strong in aviation and space... We produce armoured personal carriers. Some of the ammunition we need can be procured from India... We can introduce India to our successful drones. We have produced drones which are identifying and killing Kurdistan Workers Party terrorists. They would be discussed,” he said. India has been keen on acquiring armed drones for sometime and is very close to procuring the Heron-T UAVs from Israel.
To questions on Pakistan’s continued support on Kashmir, Mr. Cevik pointed that India too had voted in favour of Cyprus at the United Nations, and said international issues should not be mixed up.
On Kashmir issue
On Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism and Kashmir, he said the issue was for the two countries to discuss.
“On Kashmir, don’t pull us into the kind of problems between India and Pakistan. We are trying to build our relationship with India. You have to sit and solve the problems, but this does not mean that once we have achieved a strong relationship, we will not be an innocent bystander. It means the kind leverage on our side, he said speaking at the discussion on India-Turkey relations,” he stated.
Stating that Turkey was trying to promote its relations with India, while its brotherly ties with Pakistan continued, Mr. Cevik added, “We are trying to rediscover old friends.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/turkey-offers-drones-for-india/article18312605.ece
