SPAIN’S foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, says that Turkey has grabbed 150 ventilators and sanitary equipment to combat the coronavirus pandemic, which were going to be shipped to Spain.
According to newspaper, El Mundo, the ventilators were made in Turkey on behalf of a Spanish company, with components bought by the firm from China.
But because the ventilators were put together in Turkey, the Turkish government said they fell under the country’s new restrictions on the export of medical devices during the current Covid-19 crisis.
Talks between Spain’s health minister, Salvador Illa and his Turkish counterpart apparently saw no break in the impasse, according to El Mundo.
While the Turkish government has assured Spanish authorities that the shipment will reach Spain “in a few weeks,” according to González Laya, her government considers the equipment to be “lost.”
The regional government of Castille-La Mancha wants the national government to formally make a diplomatic complaint over the issue, which is “bordering on criminality,” according to Castille-La Mancha’s President Emiliano García-Page.
He said that his administration had already paid €3 million for the seized ventilators.
Only last Wednesday, Turkey sent a supply of personal protective gear and disinfectants to Spain, following Spain’s appeal to NATO for support.
Source: Euro Weekly News
