Tweet
ANKARA ADDS TO CONFUSION OVER NATO, MISSILE COOPERATION
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 25 2015
February 24, 2015 - 10:35pm, by Joshua Kucera
Just days after Turkey's defense minister said that its new,
controversial air defense system would not be integrated with NATO's,
the president's spokesman openly contradicted him.
"As one of the most important countries in NATO's security line, we
will definitely ensure this integration and harmony," said Ibrahim
Kalin, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kalin did not address the other recent plot twist in this long-running
saga -- that Ankara's decision on whether to continue as planned with
a Chinese system, or instead switch to a Western one, would be based
on how the bidding countries mark the upcoming 100th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide.
But his statement does -- again -- make it appear likely that Ankara
will eventually reverse course and decide to go with a Western,
NATO-compatible system. NATO officials have repeatedly argued that
they could not integrate a Chinese system into their own for security
purposes, and failing to integrate NATO's system would be a big
handicap for Turkey. By not integrating with NATO "Turkey will lose
half of its radar capabilities," one unnamed defense analyst told
Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkey analyst Aaron Stein notes that Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz,
whose remarks initially set all this off, may not know what he's
talking about, and in any case the decision is not going to be made
in the defense industry but in the presidential palace.
"It is certain that there is some sort of confusion," political
scientist Ersin Kalaycioglu told Today's Zaman. "But other than that,
we have to wait and see what will happen, as some things have not
fully settled yet."
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/72256
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 25 2015
February 24, 2015 - 10:35pm, by Joshua Kucera
Just days after Turkey's defense minister said that its new,
controversial air defense system would not be integrated with NATO's,
the president's spokesman openly contradicted him.
"As one of the most important countries in NATO's security line, we
will definitely ensure this integration and harmony," said Ibrahim
Kalin, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kalin did not address the other recent plot twist in this long-running
saga -- that Ankara's decision on whether to continue as planned with
a Chinese system, or instead switch to a Western one, would be based
on how the bidding countries mark the upcoming 100th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide.
But his statement does -- again -- make it appear likely that Ankara
will eventually reverse course and decide to go with a Western,
NATO-compatible system. NATO officials have repeatedly argued that
they could not integrate a Chinese system into their own for security
purposes, and failing to integrate NATO's system would be a big
handicap for Turkey. By not integrating with NATO "Turkey will lose
half of its radar capabilities," one unnamed defense analyst told
Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkey analyst Aaron Stein notes that Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz,
whose remarks initially set all this off, may not know what he's
talking about, and in any case the decision is not going to be made
in the defense industry but in the presidential palace.
"It is certain that there is some sort of confusion," political
scientist Ersin Kalaycioglu told Today's Zaman. "But other than that,
we have to wait and see what will happen, as some things have not
fully settled yet."
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/72256