Turkey opens military base in Qatar

Turkey signed a formal agreement with Qatar on 28 April to form a joint military base in the Gulf country.

The Qatari base will become Turkey’s first foreign military base in the Gulf, with the agreement being signed in Doha by Turkish defence minister Ismet Yilmaz and his Qatari counterpart Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah.

Saudi Arabia turns to Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud during a luncheon ahead of the G-20 summit in Belek, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer)

 

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have agreed to form a Strategic Cooperation Council to coordinate and develop relations between the countries in terms of economic, political, defense, security, education and health issues. The countries also are discussing military cooperation, especially with regard to Syria.

The custodian of the two holy mosques, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, received Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at his palace in Riyadh during the prime minister’s official visit Jan. 31.

Turkey could choose China’s missile defense system by end of year: report

This is a follow-up story to what was posted in July of 2013. They’re fed up with delays on being admitted as a member of the EU and want to threaten the security of the NATO alliance should they not get their way. The painful truth being, the EU doesn’t want a nation of 77 million that’s 99% islamic flooding the European continent. Therefore, a split is foreseable.

 

Turkey will likely end up choosing China’s long-range missile system and complete a deal by the end of the year if US and European arms manufacturers continue to refuse amending their offers to meet Ankara’s demands, reports Turkey’s Daily Sabah.

In 2013, Turkey accepted a bid from the China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corporation (CPMIEC) for its first anti-missile system at a price tag of US$3.4 billion, though the agreement is yet to be signed.

NATO has strategy to defend Turkey, says Defence Minister

Ankara: The NATO alliance has drawn up a strategy to defend Turkey if it is attacked along its border with Syria, a Turkish official says.

Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz, whose country is a NATO member, said the alliance did that at his government’s request as Islamic State militants, who have captured a large swath of Iraq and Syria, are trying to take the Syrian town of Kobane near the Turkish border.

“If there is an attack, NATO’s joint defence mechanisms will be activated,” Mr Yilmaz told reporters.

Ankara’s move to Chinese air systems appals NATO allies

Ankara leans toward selecting Chinese long-range anti-missile and air defense systems while NATO allies look shocked by the possibility of the decision

Turkey’s western allies look puzzled by a looming decision by Ankara to select Chinese long-range anti-missile and air defense systems which they think cannot be integrated into the NATO-sponsored early warning architecture currently deployed on Turkish soil.

“That would certainly leave many of us speechless,” said one senior diplomat from a NATO country. “Turkey has every right to choose its own air defense system but we do not quite understand the logic of opting for a Chinese system with no interoperability with the existing [NATO] assets.”

Turkey plans to buy 100 US F-35 fighters: report

Turkey is planning to purchase 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters worth $16 billion in an attempt to meet its future air force needs, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz was quoted as saying Thursday.

“Turkey plans to buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, two of which will be delivered in 2015,” Yilmaz told the daily Milliyet.

Full article: Turkey plans to buy 100 US F-35 fighters: report (Space War)