Turkey's drone deal with Ukraine and its balancing act between Russia and NATO
Turkish President Erdogan visited Ukraine on Thursday where he reiterated Turkey’s support of Ukraine and signed a number of deals on trade and defense. These include joint production in Ukraine of Turkish drones, expanding a partnership that has seen Ukraine buy at least 20 unmanned aerial vehicles from Turkey. During the visit Erdogan offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, stressing he would do whatever he could to end the crisis. Expert Aaron Stein joins our host Thanos Davelis to talk about Erdogan's visit to Ukraine, Ankara's efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and the broader implications of the drone deal between Turkey and Ukraine for Turkey’s relations with Russia, Ukraine, and NATO.
Aaron Stein is the Director of Research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and an expert on Turkey, arms control and nonproliferation. He is also the co-host of Arms Control Wonk, a podcast on nuclear weapons, arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation.
Read Aaron Stein’s latest piece in War on the Rocks: From Ankara With Implications: Turkish Drones And Alliance Entrapment
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
Turkey, Ukraine Sign Free-Trade, Drone Deals as Erdogan Visits Kyiv
Erdogan seals pact with Ukraine over trade and drones