The German government has approved arms exports to Türkiye worth 230.8 million euros ($242.5 million) in the current year, which marked the highest level in nearly 20 years, according to information released by the Economy Ministry in Berlin.
The approved exports include 79.7 million euros in war weapons and 151.1 million euros in other military equipment, the ministry said in response to a query from a lawmaker of the populist Reason and Justice (BSW) party made available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
The last time this level of exports was sent from Germany to Türkiye was in 2006.
Export permits and German armaments deliveries to Türkiye, a NATO member, were down significantly following a failed coup in Türkiye in 2016 and Türkiye's counterterrorism operations in northern Syria.
Germany had previously been a large-scale armaments supplier to Türkiye, but in recent years, German weapons exports to Türkiye have been as low as the single-digit-million range.
However, the newly released figures suggest a shift in policy.
In September, the German Economy Ministry, headed by Robert Habeck, a Green party member, said it had approved the delivery of torpedoes, guided missiles and submarine components to Türkiye in larger quantities.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, defended these deliveries during a recent visit to Istanbul and talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"Türkiye is a member of NATO and that is why we always make decisions that there will be concrete deliveries. That is a matter of course," Scholz said in October.
Scholz even appeared open to the potential delivery of Eurofighter jets to Türkiye. The chancellor said talks between the United Kingdom and Türkiye about the fighter jets were ongoing.
Late last year, Ankara said it was in talks with the Eurofighter consortium members Britain and Spain to buy 40 Typhoons, though Germany objected to the idea.
However, the procurement of Eurofighter jets appears to have gained further momentum as Germany has mandated its sales authority to work on the sale of jets after initially being opposed to the move, a Defense Ministry source said last month.
Türkiye’s interest in Eurofighters came after a prolonged process over its request to buy F-16 warplanes from the U.S.
BSW politician Sevim Dağdelen criticized the increase in export approvals, calling it a "fatal signal" in light of Ankara's operations in Iraq and Syria. Türkiye occasionally conducts operations in Iraq and Syria as part of its counterterrorism efforts targeting the PKK.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.
The BSW, the German acronym for the "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance," is a relatively new political party, formed earlier this year. It is named after the former doyenne of the hard left and is a mix of pro-Russian views, an anti-immigration stance found on the far-right and skepticism about Green politics.
The party originated as a split from the party The Left (Die Linke).
