Hundreds protest NATO meeting in Istanbul
07/02/2010
ANKARA, Turkey -- About 100 people protested in Istanbul on Friday (February 5th) against an informal meeting of NATO defence ministers taking place in the city. The demonstrators, organised by far-leftist organisations, tried to reach the congress centre where the discussions were being held but were stopped by several hundred police officers.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who attended the meeting that ended on Saturday, said on Friday that Turkey is not turning its back on the West and that it has made impressive progress in its relations with Islamic countries lately. Turkey can and should play an "institutional role" between Central Asia and the Middle East on one hand, and Europe and North America on the other, Rasmussen said in an interview with Zaman. His talks with President Abdullah Gul focused on Afghanistan.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates also attended the meeting and said Washington is ready to boost military aid to Ankara in its fight against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq. Gates met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the situation in the region and relations between their countries. The US official promised to intensify the exchange of intelligence information between his country and Turkey in the fight against terrorism. Erdogan said Turkey is ready to help in the training of Afghani soldiers, and promised to send more troops to Kabul. (Milliyet, Journal of Turkish Weekly - 06/02/10; Zaman, MIA - 05/02/10)
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