Coronavirus: Turkey accused by officials of seizing hundreds of ventilators paid for by Spain

Spanish officials condemn move as Ankara insists equipment will arrive in ‘a few weeks’

UPDATE 09.04.20 A previous version of this article's headline stated as fact that Turkey had "seized ventilators destined for Spain"; we have amended the headline to clarify that this was an accusation made by Spanish officials. Following publication of this article, Turkey has denied the claims, and has confirmed that the medical equipment has been released. A full write up of this development in the story can be found at the following link.

Turkey was accused on Friday of seizing hundreds of ventilators and sanitary equipment destined for Spain amid the escalating coronavirus pandemic.

Spanish officials said Ankara was holding the ventilators for “the treatment of their own patients”, despite local governments in Spain having already paid millions for them.

In a press conference on Friday, Spain’s foreign affairs minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, appeared to admit defeat in her attempts to convince her Turkish counterpart to release the ventilators in the coming days.

“Turkey has imposed restrictions on the export of medical devices, motivated by the need for medical supplies,” she said, according to Spanish national media.

Late on Saturday, however, Ms Laya announced Turkey would allow the shipment to make its way to Spain.

Thanking Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Ms Laya tweeted: "We appreciate the gesture of a friendly and allied country."

Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Friday reported the ventilators were manufactured in Turkey on behalf of a Spanish firm that bought the components from China.

Three Spanish regions, Castilla-La Mancha, Navarre and Catalonia, had bought the ventilators, the newspaper reported, while the shipment also featured sanitary materials paid for by the country’s health ministry.

But before the equipment could be flown out, Turkish customs intervened.

Emiliano Garcia-Page, Castilla-La Mancha’s president, said Turkey has “unilaterally decided to requisition” 150 ventilators it had already paid €3m (£2.6m) for.

He added he expected the national government to issue a diplomatic complaint about the issue, which he said was “bordering on criminality”.

Earlier in the week, both Nato and the Spanish government praised Turkey for sending medical aid to Spain and Italy.

“Turkey sending a cargo plane with medical supplies to Italy & Spain today to support our joint fight against COVID19,” Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter.

“Proud to see Nato Allies supporting each other through our disaster relief center. #StrongerTogether,” he added.

The diplomatic row between the two Nato allies came amid increasing global tensions over scarce medical resources in the battle against Covid-19.

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on Friday warned Donald Trump his decision to stop a US manufacturing company from exporting respirators could prompt retaliatory measures.

Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries in the world during the coronavirus pandemic. By Saturday, the number of people who had died after contracting the virus stood at 11,744.

The Turkish government has been contacted for comment.