Memorandum signed on deployment of NATO radar in Turkey

Turkey and US officials have signed a memorandum on the deployment of US radar as part of a NATO-backed missile defense system designed to protect European members of the alliance from missile threats, Today’s Zaman reported.

According to the memorandum, the X-band radar system will be deployed at a military base in the eastern province of Malatya, private NTV television reported on Wednesday. It also said the agreement was signed by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday morning.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the radar system would be deployed in Kürecik, Malatya. “The site surveys and relevant legal arrangements have been finalized, and accordingly a military installation in Kürecik has been designated as the radar site,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

NATO members agreed to an anti-missile system over Europe to protect against Iranian ballistic missiles at a summit in Lisbon last year. A compromise was reached with Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with its neighbor Iran and had threatened to block the deal if Iran was explicitly named as a threat.

At the NATO summit of heads of state and government in Lisbon last year, Turkey formally backed NATO plans to build a missile defense system, saying it will also contribute to national defense against the growing threat of ballistic missile proliferation.


/APA/