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Türkiye and France signed a "Defense Cooperation Roadmap" to strengthen defense ties and strategic dialogue between the two NATO allies, Türkiye's National Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry said the signing shows that "the mutual positive messages recently given by the leaders of the two countries have turned into a meaningful and concrete step of cooperation in the field of defense."
The roadmap follows talks on a possible Turkish purchase of the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system and Meteor missiles, after France reportedly softened its long-standing opposition to selling the system to Ankara.
The roadmap was signed after Lt. Gen. Ilkay Altindag, the ministry's director general for defense and security, held talks with French Minister Delegate for the Armed Forces Alice Rufo, Gen. Vincent Giraud, head of the French president's military staff, and Guillaume Ollagnier, director general for international relations and strategy at the French Defense Ministry.
"During the talks, bilateral defense and military relations, strategic dialogue and opportunities to develop existing cooperation were discussed; the importance of maintaining regular and result-oriented contacts was confirmed," the ministry said.
"The Roadmap aims to strengthen strategic dialogue through regular and result-oriented contacts and to further advance cooperation based on the mutual benefit of the two countries," it added.
A French defense official told Türkiye Today in July that discussions with Ankara on the SAMP/T system and on Meteor missiles, alongside the U.K., were "going good."
Reuters reported in July, citing five sources, that France had softened its opposition to selling SAMP/T to Türkiye, opening the door to more substantive talks on a system Ankara has long sought for its planned "Steel Dome" integrated air and missile defense network.
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said in June that Ankara was evaluating all options for its air defense needs, including possible purchases of U.S. Patriot systems or SAMP/T, and was open to cooperation that includes technology-sharing and joint production.
Italy deployed a SAMP/T system to Türkiye in mid-June as part of NATO defense planning.
Türkiye, France and Italy first launched cooperation on a possible long-range air defense program in 2017-2018.
The SAMP/T is produced by the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium and is often described as Europe's closest counterpart to the Patriot. The statement did not say whether the Defense Cooperation Roadmap covers specific procurement projects.
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