ANKARA (Today’s Zaman)–The Israeli Defense Ministry has decided to evaluate the idea of the sale of advanced military platforms to the Turkish military following a three-day Syrian-Turkish military exercise.
The decision came after Israeli Defense Ministry officials expressed discomfort over the growing military and diplomatic relations between Turkey and Syria as the two countries conducted joint military exercises focusing on better border protection this week, the Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday.
The daily reported that Turkey has expressed interest in a number of advanced Israeli platforms — such as the Namer armored personnel carrier and the Barak 8 missile defense system for its navy — and that Israel is concerned that the border-protection exercises between Syria and Turkey will lead to full-fledged defense ties between the countries and the possible transfer of Israeli technology from Turkey to Syria.
The paper also reported that Israel and Turkey are currently in talks with the Colombian military about the possible trade of upgraded M60 tanks, which were upgraded by Israeli Military Industries and the Turkish company Aselsan.
Meanwhile, the next round of political consultations between Turkey and Israel will be held in Israel between Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and his Israeli counterpart Yassi Gal on May 2.