Turkish-made Bayraktar TB-2 drones to Ukraine not military aid but private sales - official

Turkey's drone shipments to Ukraine are not a military aid but rather private sales, a deputy Turkish foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.

NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Russia and Ukraine and has good ties with both, has criticised the Russian invasion of Ukraine as unacceptable.

Turkey cooperates closely with Russia in energy, trade and defence. It has also sold Bayraktar TB-2 drones to Kyiv and signed a deal to co-produce more during a visit there last month by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

On Wednesday, Ukraine's defence minister said it received a fresh shipment of the armed drones, which have proven effective in recent years against Russian forces and their allies in conflicts in Syria and Libya.

In an interview with the Turkish-language newspaper Sabah, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran said Kyiv had purchased the drones from Baykar, a private Turkish defence company, stressing this did not represent an agreement between the nations.

"Ukraine wanted to buy this product from our firm, and they made a strong deal among themselves," Kiran said, according to Sabah.

"This is not help from Turkey. These are products Ukraine bought from a Turkish company. Of course, we are proud of these products," he added.

Since Russia launched its invasion a week ago, the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara has posted several videos of what they say are Turkish-made drones hitting Russian targets.

Russia had previously raised concerns with Turkey over Ukraine's use of drones in the country's east, but Ankara says it is not responsible for what buyers do. Cheaper than U.S. and Chinese rivals, Turkish drones have attracted buyers from Europe, Africa and Asia.

Turkey this week closed its straits linking the Mediterranean and Black Seas to all military traffic under a 1936 pact, allowing it to limit the passage of some Russian warships.