Ankara: sales of Turkish combat drones to Ukraine is not Russia’s business
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has responded to Russia's claims about the sale of heavy combat drones Bayraktar TB-2 to Ukraine, reported Turkish news agency NTV.
The Turkish minister stressed that the sale of drones to Ukraine should not bother anyone, because it is just trade.
Çavuşoğlu words came in response to the recent statements of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who stated that Turkey allegedly "fuels the militaristic sentiments" of Ukraine, as well as "encourages aggressive initiatives on Crimea", which Russia considers an attack on its "territorial integrity."
The Turkish Foreign Ministry noted that the agreement on the sale of combat drones to Ukraine was reached many years ago. At the same time, Russia itself sells missiles to Syria and Turkey has never questioned it.
At the same time, Çavuşoğlu added that Turkey's position on the annexation of Crimea is known, and the official Istanbul constantly tells Russia about it.
The Turkish Minister also said that only Turkish military specialists will work with the S-400 air defense systems purchased by Russian air defense systems and there will be no Russian experts in Turkey.
On April 9, the Bayraktar TB2 drone was deployed to eastern Ukraine for the first time.