The Israeli Defense Ministry has cancelled the deal between the Israeli company Ilbit and the Turkish air force on shipments of high-accuracy equipment for aerial photography. The contract was signed in 2008 and was to be realized in 2012.
The contract was worth $141 million. Elbit will not only return the sum but also pay $90 million in compensation. Shares of the company at the New York Exchange dropped by 2.5%.
But the Israeli Defense Ministry says that it is a case in which losses are preferable to abandoning the state's interests. Turkish rapprochement with Iran and pro-Iranian organizations raises concerns of Israeli special services. Israel believes that Turkey would have stolen its technology and given it to Iran.
Turkey has not reacted to the cancellation of the contract.
Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
