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SYRIA INTENDS TO RETALIATE AGAINST TURKEY FOR ARMS INTERCEPTION
Today's Zaman
Sept 27 2011
Turkey
Syria has announced intentions to review a free trade agreement (FTA)
that the country claimed was favoring Turkish trade over Syria's,
a move that came as an obvious attempt at retaliation following
Turkey's initiative to intercept an arms shipment to Syria.
"Political relations and economic relations are two different things.
... We need to review certain articles in the FTA we signed with
Turkey because it currently favors Turkish trade over Syrian benefits,
and it damages us," Syrian Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Nidal
al-Shaar was quoted as saying by the Cihan news agency on Monday.
The announcement of Syria's intention to review the FTA, signed back
in 2006, comes in clear retaliation for a move by Turkey to increase
interceptions on arms shipment to Syria, an initiative Turkey took
since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule came under heavy fire
over the killings of Syrian civilians. Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to introduce sanctions against the
Assad administration, as he announced last week that he was planning
to pay a visit to a camp hosting thousands of Syrian refugees in the
southern border province of Hatay. The premier also noted that Turkey
would evaluate options for sanctions in the meantime, the outcome of
which would be publicized during his visit to Hatay.
Meanwhile, a US diplomat on Tuesday acknowledged that the US welcomed
the measures Turkey will take regarding Syria, and the two countries
were also engaged in talks to bolster cooperation at a US foreign
policy conference regarding the 2011 UN General Assembly meeting.
Michael Hammer, the acting assistant secretary for public affairs at
the US State Department, told reporters in New York that although
the US applied unilateral sanctions to Syria, they remained minor,
and it was highly important for neighboring countries such as Turkey
to take steps that might increase the pressure on the Syrian regime,
according to an Anatolia news agency report.
The remark came days after Prime Minister Erdogan announced Turkey
would keep on intercepting arms shipments to Syria, as it has been
doing in the recent past.
The official also commented on the delivery of US unmanned aerial
vehicles named Predators to Turkey, saying the US has a strong
partnership with the country and would support Turkey in its
fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Erdogan
announced last week that the US and Turkey had "agreed on principle"
for the delivery of the vehicles, and Turkish Defense Minister İsmet
Yılmaz noted on Saturday that the Predators would be delivered to the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in June 2012. Hammer did not elaborate on
the details of the deployment of the Predators, but said he had seen
media reports announcing an agreement between Washington and Ankara
to deploy the vehicles at the strategic İncirlik Air Base in the
southern province of Adana.
Turkish officials have met or had phone conversations with their
counterparts from the US many times this year, which Hammer considers
essential for increasing bilateral cooperation. Hammer also noted on
the sidelines that the US had hailed the Turkish decision to install
an early warning radar system under a new strategic defense strategy
within NATO countries to block missiles coming from outside Europe.
Although the defense system was speculated to be a means of protection
from the alleged nuclear ambitions of Iran, Turkey insists the system
targets any country that threatens NATO members. Iranian officials
condemned the Turkish government last week over the decision, warning
that there would be serious repercussions for the country and accusing
Turkey of hypocrisy with regard to Iran.
Hammer also touched upon the debate over oil and gas resources in
the eastern Mediterranean seabed that have set the Greek and Turkish
Cypriot communities at odds, suggesting that the US-based company that
acquired the Greek Cypriot licenses for research and excavation had
the right to carry out drilling activities. Greek Cypriot drilling
for hydrocarbon sources also triggered Turkey to sign an agreement
with Turkish Cypriots to determine continental shelves, allowing the
countries to carry out their own drilling operations for resources.
Hammer noted that the US had hoped the drilling initiatives would
not cause new tension in the region, and that it was in touch with
Turkey regarding the situation.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-258107-syria-intends-to-retaliate-against-turkey-for-arms-interception.html
Today's Zaman
Sept 27 2011
Turkey
Syria has announced intentions to review a free trade agreement (FTA)
that the country claimed was favoring Turkish trade over Syria's,
a move that came as an obvious attempt at retaliation following
Turkey's initiative to intercept an arms shipment to Syria.
"Political relations and economic relations are two different things.
... We need to review certain articles in the FTA we signed with
Turkey because it currently favors Turkish trade over Syrian benefits,
and it damages us," Syrian Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Nidal
al-Shaar was quoted as saying by the Cihan news agency on Monday.
The announcement of Syria's intention to review the FTA, signed back
in 2006, comes in clear retaliation for a move by Turkey to increase
interceptions on arms shipment to Syria, an initiative Turkey took
since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule came under heavy fire
over the killings of Syrian civilians. Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to introduce sanctions against the
Assad administration, as he announced last week that he was planning
to pay a visit to a camp hosting thousands of Syrian refugees in the
southern border province of Hatay. The premier also noted that Turkey
would evaluate options for sanctions in the meantime, the outcome of
which would be publicized during his visit to Hatay.
Meanwhile, a US diplomat on Tuesday acknowledged that the US welcomed
the measures Turkey will take regarding Syria, and the two countries
were also engaged in talks to bolster cooperation at a US foreign
policy conference regarding the 2011 UN General Assembly meeting.
Michael Hammer, the acting assistant secretary for public affairs at
the US State Department, told reporters in New York that although
the US applied unilateral sanctions to Syria, they remained minor,
and it was highly important for neighboring countries such as Turkey
to take steps that might increase the pressure on the Syrian regime,
according to an Anatolia news agency report.
The remark came days after Prime Minister Erdogan announced Turkey
would keep on intercepting arms shipments to Syria, as it has been
doing in the recent past.
The official also commented on the delivery of US unmanned aerial
vehicles named Predators to Turkey, saying the US has a strong
partnership with the country and would support Turkey in its
fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Erdogan
announced last week that the US and Turkey had "agreed on principle"
for the delivery of the vehicles, and Turkish Defense Minister İsmet
Yılmaz noted on Saturday that the Predators would be delivered to the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in June 2012. Hammer did not elaborate on
the details of the deployment of the Predators, but said he had seen
media reports announcing an agreement between Washington and Ankara
to deploy the vehicles at the strategic İncirlik Air Base in the
southern province of Adana.
Turkish officials have met or had phone conversations with their
counterparts from the US many times this year, which Hammer considers
essential for increasing bilateral cooperation. Hammer also noted on
the sidelines that the US had hailed the Turkish decision to install
an early warning radar system under a new strategic defense strategy
within NATO countries to block missiles coming from outside Europe.
Although the defense system was speculated to be a means of protection
from the alleged nuclear ambitions of Iran, Turkey insists the system
targets any country that threatens NATO members. Iranian officials
condemned the Turkish government last week over the decision, warning
that there would be serious repercussions for the country and accusing
Turkey of hypocrisy with regard to Iran.
Hammer also touched upon the debate over oil and gas resources in
the eastern Mediterranean seabed that have set the Greek and Turkish
Cypriot communities at odds, suggesting that the US-based company that
acquired the Greek Cypriot licenses for research and excavation had
the right to carry out drilling activities. Greek Cypriot drilling
for hydrocarbon sources also triggered Turkey to sign an agreement
with Turkish Cypriots to determine continental shelves, allowing the
countries to carry out their own drilling operations for resources.
Hammer noted that the US had hoped the drilling initiatives would
not cause new tension in the region, and that it was in touch with
Turkey regarding the situation.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-258107-syria-intends-to-retaliate-against-turkey-for-arms-interception.html