US military chief urges Turkey to help deter nuclear Iran

06/09/2010

The chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff praised Turkey and denied that the United States plans to use Turkish territory to move combat weapons out of Iraq.

(Zaman, Defpro.com - 06/09/10; Hurriyet - 05/09/10; AP, AFP, Bloomberg, CNN, VOA, Ynetnews, Xinhua, Hurriyet - 04/09/10)

US Admiral Michael Mullen called on Turkey to support UN sanctions against Iran. [Getty Images]

US Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged Turkey on Saturday (September 4th) to join efforts aimed at deterring Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He praised the country for the role it plays in the region and in NATO-led missions.

The highest-ranking military official in the US armed forces arrived for an official visit to Ankara on Friday, about three months after Turkey's "no" vote on the fourth round of UN sanctions against the Islamic republic in early June.

Mullen, who is also US President Barack Obama's top military adviser, stressed that the purpose of his trip was not to contest Turkey's move.

"I did not come here to question or in any way rebut Turkey's decision not to support UN sanctions against Iran," he said at a news conference in Ankara on Saturday. "I note with gratitude your government's stated intent to enforce those sanctions."

Turkey and the United States share the goal of preventing Iran from achieving nuclear-weapons capability, so both countries must make every effort "to make sure that doesn't happen", Mullen added.

One of the purposes of the admiral's visit was to meet with General Isik Kosaner, who took office as Turkey's new chief of the General Staff on August 27th. He said he came to Ankara both to congratulate his counterpart personally, as well as to reaffirm the US military's commitment to strengthening its "already close working relationship" with the Turkish armed forces.

"I wanted also to thank him for Turkey's leadership in the region," Mullen added, praising the country for its contribution to a range of NATO-led missions, such as those in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan.

Turkey, which has an about 1,700-strong contingent in Afghanistan, is involved in providing police training and staffing for reconstruction teams there and is currently in charge of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops in the region around Kabul. Mullen said it should extend the period of its command, which expires in October.

"We would like to see Turkey sustain all of those efforts because they've been so important in Afghanistan and also because of the critical time in which we find ourselves in Afghanistan right now."

Mullen also held talks with Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul on Friday and with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the following day, but no statements were issued after either of those meetings.

Addressing reporters at Saturday's news conference in Ankara, Mullen denied media speculation that the purpose of his visit was to negotiate the withdrawal of heavy equipment and weapons from Iraq across Turkey's territory. Washington has no such intentions, Mullen said.

"We do not transport weapons through Turkey, nor do we plan to in the future," he noted. "Reports or suggestions to the contrary are simply false and completely without merit."

Mullen began his visit just days after President Obama announced the end of the US combat mission in Iraq. He told reporters that 38,000 pieces of rolling stock and over 2 million other pieces of equipment have already been moved out of Iraq "quietly, without incident".

"Certainly none of the military equipment and none of the people have come through Turkey," Mullen said.

Washington and Baghdad have agreed that the last US forces will leave Iraq by the end of 2011, he also explained.

"We have withdrawn almost 100,000 troops under the current agreement; we would do the same over the next 15 or 16 months," said Mullen. "No decisions have been made in terms of how to do that," he added, noting that any discussions on the future strategic partnership between the two countries would begin once a new Iraqi government is in place

Turkey's possible inclusion in a planned missile shield over southern Europe, aimed at countering perceived threats from countries such as Iran, Mullen said that talks on the matter are under way in NATO.

"The membership of NATO believes that having a missile defence architecture is a very important capability that needs to be put in place and evolve over time," said Mullen. "There have been discussions with several members of NATO to include Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania in terms of parts of this ... missile defence architecture and whether countries would support installations ... Those discussions continue."