Erdogan urges NATO allies to lift defence industry restrictions at summit

ANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that NATO allies must lift defence-industry restrictions among them, pressing the case for Ankara to break into some Europe-only initiatives.

"Restrictions among allies on defence cooperation, especially in the defence industry, must be lifted," Erdogan told the opening of a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara.

"At a time when a model of cooperation based on common sense and reason is possible, excluding allies that are not members of the (European) Union would lead to artificial divisions in Europe."