Why Turkey wants to upgrade its German-made tanks

APD NEWS

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Turkey's request for an upgrade to its fleet of German-built tanks has sparked calls for the government in Berlin to halt arms exports to Ankara.

Reports of German-made Leopard tanks being used in Turkey's offensive against the Kurdish YPG in Syria's northwest have triggered anger in Germany.

Turkey wants the tanks upgraded with improved armor and a modern defensive system in a bid to shield them from smaller explosive devices and missiles, according to a report in Germany's Spiegel magazine.

The improvements are aimed at eliminating one of the tanks' weaknesses – a shortcoming that resulted in the Turkish army having lost several tanks and troops in the battle against Islamic State (IS), the magazine said.

Photos of Leopard tanks have been circulating on social media after Turkey launched the offensive in Syria's Afrin on Saturday.

A German defense ministry spokesman earlier this week said it was not yet clear when the photos were taken and he had no direct knowledge aside from images circulating in the media that the tanks were being used in Syria.

He, however, confirmed that Turkey had purchased over 750 tanks from Germany in the 1980s, 1990s and late 2000s, according to a Reuters report.

Foreign ministry officials were quoted in the German media as saying that the situation remained unclear.

The Turkish move in Syria, which entered its sixth day on Thursday, is largely unpopular in Germany.

But the latest row is mainly against the plan to provide Turkey with tank upgrades, which is facing fierce opposition from German politicians.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel confer in Goslar, Germany, on January 6.

Agnieszka Brugger, a Greens lawmaker, has called for an immediate end to all arms exports to Turkey.

She lashed out at Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel for the "disastrous failure" of Germany's dealings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The government needs to clearly state its position on the Turkish military offensive against Kurds in Syria, Brugger was quoted in the Heilbronner Stimme newspaper as saying.

Norbert Röttgen , a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, called the Turkish attack a violation of international law, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily.

Stefan Liebich, a lawmaker from the Left Party, said the government tone on Turkey's offensive in Syria is quite soft.

"I expect from our government to say to our NATO partner that this is against the international law," he told Germany's International broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.

Before it asked for an arms deal, Turkey appeared to have sent signals of rapprochement toward Germany by releasing several German citizens who Berlin said were detained for no good reason. They included human rights activist Peter Steudtner and journalist Mesale Tolu.

The detention of German citizens led to suspicions that Ankara wants to pressure Berlin to extradite people accused of involvement in a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Deniz Yücel, the Turkey correspondent for the German daily newspaper Die Welt who holds both German and Turkish citizenship, is, however, yet to be released.

Gabriel met earlier this month with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu at his home in Goslar, a town in Germany’s Harz Mountains, where he reiterated Berlin's demand to release the journalist.

The meeting, according to the local media, was aimed at restoring tense German-Turkish ties but Cavusoglu reportedly also requested an arms deal.

The relations between Ankara and Berlin have been tense on multiple issues ranging from the migrant crisis to the state of human rights in Turkey as well as its EU ambitions.

(CGTN)