US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was due to meet Turkish leaders in Ankara on Monday at the beginning of a trip to seven European countries for talks on topics ranging from military modernization to the missile defense system, reported the Turkish Daily News.
On his first extended trip since becoming secretary of defense in January, Rumsfeld will meet Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and other Turkish officials and go to Incirlik Air Base, from where US and British jets enforce a "no-fly" zone in northern Iraq.
A senior US defense official said Rumsfeld would discuss bilateral and regional ties and military modernization with other ministers and was prepared to defend President George W. Bush's controversial plans to develop a missile defense system at a NATO defense ministerial in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
"It's clear that [missile defense] is a subject of great interest among our allies, and I think the secretary is going to be happy to engage in a consultative process with them," the official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters.
The no-fly zones are not sanctioned by any UN resolution and Ankara is criticized by Iraq and its supporters for putting Incirlik at the disposal of the allies.
At a time when the northren no-fly zone is allegedly meant to protect the Kurds in Iraq, Turkey trespasses into Iraqi territories in its hunt for the Kurdish Laborers Party (PKK) members fighting for autonomy.
Turkey’s human rights record, especially regarding the treatment of Kurds in prisons, has been bitterly criticised by human rights watchdogs – Albawaba.com
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