Erdogan answered the questions posed by journalists in Ankara, prior to his departure for Kosovo.
Upon a question concerning reactions from the west to Turkey’s desicion to buy missiles from China, Erdogan said "Many NATO member states have Russian weaponry in their inventories. If NATO is so sensitive towards this issue it should first consider the NATO member states' having Russian weaponry in their inventories"
Concerning the opening of a new chapter in Turkey-EU accession talks, Erdogan said, "This is an affirmative decision but it is not enough because further steps should be rapidly taken. There has been a huge loss of time."
worldbulletin.net
23/10/13
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Turkish PM rebukes NATO over China missile deal criticism...
ReplyDeletePrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rebuffed intensified international criticism over Turkey’s choice to agree a missile defense deal with China, a day after NATO declared that it wanted a say in the decision-making process.
“Nobody has the right to overshadow our understanding of independence,” Erdoğan said Oct. 23 before departing for Kosovo.
The prime minister’s statement came a day after NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s remarks expressed the hope that NATO’s reaction would be taken into account before Turkey makes its final decision over the long-range anti-missile system.
Rasmussen stressed that NATO was completely aware that deciding which equipment to purchase is a national decision, but also stressed Turkey’s international commitments. “It’s of utmost importance that the system that a nation plans to acquire can work and operate together with similar systems in other Allied nations,” he said.
However, ignoring NATO’s stance on the issue, Erdoğan said there was no problem with the deal in terms of Turkey’s national preferences.
President Abdullah Gül also said Oct. 23 that Turkey gave utmost importance to its relations with allies, but also it was “natural to consider national interests in such decisions.”
“There are many technical issues here, they were all calculated and this result came out,” Gül told reporters in Ankara. “The missiles to be bought and their integration are technical issues. No one should misinterpret it. Besides, there are similar applications in other NATO member states.”
Erdoğan said Turkey and China had already conducted an exercise with NATO’s knowledge and everything is proceeding by the book, adding that many points, including the operational capabilities of the missiles, the price and the option of joint production, had been taken into consideration when making the decision.
“The joint production clause is rated highly by us. All offers [in defense tenders] are studied on a points system, and I, my Chief of General staff and my Defense Minister look at them, we are briefed and then make a decision,” he said.
The decisions are mostly about authorizing the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) for talks, the prime minister added.
“We tell the undersecretariat to start negotiations on certain conditions, and then we make the final decision based on the talks. Currently the Chinese offer has the highest points. Undersecretariat officials and China are currently working on it,” Erdoğan said, adding that comments by NATO or any country would not have effect on the decision.
“Many NATO member states have Russian weapons in their inventories. If NATO is so sensitive about the issue it would remove the weapons from Russia in NATO’s own inventory,” he said.
The Turkish government’s decision to start negotiations with a Chinese firm for the co-production of the $3.4 billion missile defense system has triggered serious concerns from NATO and among member countries, particularly the United States. The fact that the Chinese company, China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp’s (CPMIEC), is under U.S. sanctions also complicates the situation.
*An earlier version of this article misquoted the prime minister. Hürriyet Daily News regrets the error.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-rebukes-nato-over-china-missile-deal-criticism.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56691&NewsCatID=338
23/10/13
NATO's top commander questions Turkish missile deal with China...
ReplyDeleteNATO's top military commander urged Turkey Nov. 7 to buy a missile defense system that is compatible with other NATO systems, questioning whether the $3.4 billion Chinese system that Ankara is leaning towards is suitable.
The comments by U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, add to pressure on Ankara to rethink its decision to build a missile defense system with a Chinese firm.
Turkey said in September it had chosen the FD-2000 missile defense system from China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp, or CPMIEC, over systems from Russian, U.S. and European firms.
CPMIEC is under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. Turkey later said its decision on the deal was not final.
Stressing that the choice was for Turkey to make, Breedlove said his concern was that all NATO members took decisions that contributed to the collective defense of the alliance and selected equipment that would work with other NATO systems.
"In my conversations with the Turkish military ... the important point is that we have systems that are completely inter-operable and ... suitable for plugging in to NATO networks," he said in an interview with two reporters in Latvia, where he was visiting a major NATO exercise.
Breedlove did not specify what he meant by suitable but some NATO diplomats say plugging Chinese equipment into NATO systems would raise cyber security concerns.
'Suitable'
Asked if he hoped Turkey would think again, Breedlove said: "I would sure like to see them buy a completely compatible and suitable NATO capability."
Breedlove said it might be possible to make the Chinese system compatible with NATO systems, but he added: "Can it be made to be suitable to plug into a NATO system? I don't know."
Turkey has asked the United States to extend the pricing on Raytheon Co's Patriot missile defense system proposal, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters last week, in a sign that Ankara is keeping its options open in case its talks with CPMIEC fall through.......http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/natos-top-commander-questions-turkish-missile-deal-with-china.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57511&NewsCatID=359
7/11/13