Missile deal to expire in two years, says Turkish FM

The deal signed between Turkey and the United States on the deployment of an early warning radar system will expire after two years, and Turkey has the right to annul it whenever it wants, according to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. “It is not possible for the system to be activated or convey information to any other country without notifying Turkey,” Davutoğlu said in response to criticism from opposition parties in Parliament on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, media in Spain reported that Madrid was planning to join the missile defense system from its naval base at Rota in the south part of the country. Statements on the Spanish government and NATO websites said Spain, NATO and the U.S. would announce an agreement on the development of new capabilities during an upcoming NATO meeting in Brussels, however no details of the agreement were disclosed.

Turkey’s decision to participate in the NATO missile shield project has drawn reactions both from Iran and local politicians who claim this will make Turkey a regional target. Davutoğlu said the missile defense shield would be open to inspection by the Turkish Armed Forces, and that all of the necessary guarantees had been made to ensure the facility will be open to military and diplomatic intervention by Turkey at any point. He said the contract would be renewed automatically every two years.

The deal signed between Turkey and the U.S. on the deployment of an early warning radar system will expire after two years, and Turkey has the right to annul it whenever it wants, according to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

“It is not possible for the system to be activated or convey information to any other country without notifying Turkey,” Davutoğlu said in response to criticism from opposition parties in Parliament yesterday. Turkey’s decision to participate in the NATO missile shield project has drawn reactions both from Iran and local politicians who claim this will make Turkey a regional target. Davutoğlu and his aides told Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu before a parliamentary debate on the issue that calling the project an “Israel Shield” means “using matters of national security as a tool for gaining small and narrow political profits.” The missile defense shield will be open to inspection by the Turkish Armed Forces, said Davutoğlu, who assured that all of the necessary guarantees had been made to ensure the facility will be open to military and diplomatic intervention by Turkey at any point. He said the contract would be renewed automatically every two years, and that Turkey had the option of cancelling it at any point.

If activated, a missile will be destroyed in the atmosphere, without any fallout landing on Earth, he said. According to information obtained by the Hürriyet Daily News, Kılıçdaroğlu’s meeting with Davutoğlu resulted in a “sect complaint.”


/Hurriyet Daily News/