Cumhuriyet

[Adem]

 

[Adem]

PRESIDENT ASLAN ANNOUNCES MAJOR FOREIGN POLICY PUSH

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ANKARA - Acting on her pledge to work towards repairing Turkey's relationship with the world, President Aslan has announced the launch of a major multi-directional foreign policy push. The push includes establishing and repairing relations with a wide range of countries over multiple phases. Already efforts are underway with China, Thailand, Portugal, France and Iran. Many more are planned.

For years Turkey has been an international pariah state, after first inviting destruction to our lands in 2000 the then government through its atrocities and warmongering actions worked to undo generations of efforts by subsequent Republican governments to establish Turkey as a a fair and open country. This situation was worsened when the extremely short-lived Ottoman resurgence made an enemy of the Christian world by going back on its pledges to the Holy See and announcing policies to persecute Christians within Turkish lands.

In her address to the Grand National Assembly, President Aslan promised to undo the damage done by previous governments. Domestically she has already created a committee to investigate religious persecution in the past decade and make amends for all cases found, but internationally there were fears that the international community might not be open to giving Turkey a third chance. It appears these fears were unfounded as shortly after the address the French and Thai governments already made public statements opening the door to relations. In the Press Briefing today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it and the Office of the President had been approached by and was in talks with the governments of France, Thailand, Portugal, and Iran on shaping future relations with Turkey. It also stated that Turkey had reached out to the Republic of China to invite President Ming for a state visit, which the Chinese have accepted.

Already the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning the state visit of President Ming to Ankara, but simultaneously it is also preparing for a visit by the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs with the Vice President in Ankara and for the first trip abroad by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Paris where she will meet with her French counterpart. "Recent days have shown that there is a strong appetite in the world for a return of Turkey to the international community" The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified in the briefing. The Ministry expects meetings with the other governments it is in talks with to follow. President Aslan has also stated that her Office will seek to reach out to Russia, India, Greece, Afghanistan and Germany in the near future in light of the important ties the Turkish state and people have to these territories.

Turkey's return to international prominence comes at a sensitive time. With the ongoing Syrian Civil War that has even come to increase tensions between France and Russia, and the global war against terrorism following the terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda in London, the Middle East is once again under a magnifying glass. The People's Republic of Turkey as one of the largest countries in the Middle East and positioned on the border of Europe and Asia, is likely to be a focus area for many other countries looking to influence the Middle East.

Officially the People's Republic of Turkey is currently neutral with regards to the conflict in Syria, but due to the refugee waves and the President's commitment to preserving human rights it is expected to be only a matter of time before Ankara will choose a side in the conflict. The only thing certain is that Turkey will never support Assad loyalists or extremely religious movements, but some form of support for leftist and Kurdish factions is considered likely.

 

[Adem]

MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE TO PURSUE LARGE EXPANSION

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ANKARA - In light of the ongoing Syrian Civil War and general diplomatic developments around the world and in the Middle East, the Ministry of National Defense has launched the Turkey 10/20 program, a multi-year program that seeks to modernize and expand the People's Armed Forces to meet the challenges of the future. While the later parts of the plan will provide for Turkish designed and produced equipment, the immediate needs are likely to be filled by purchases from foreign suppliers. The Minister has in particular expressed an interest in Chinese equipment.

For decades Turkish armed forces have generally been supplied by American and European companies with some parts filled by Turkish manufacturers. However with the loss of NATO and the high price of in particular American equipment, the People's Armed Forces will in the future work on self-reliance and purchasing high quality equipment from more affordable sources. The Turkey 10/20 Program refers to two key benchmark years, 2010 and 2020. By 2010 the Ministry of National Defense seeks for the People's Armed Forces to be the strongest military force in the Middle East so it can provide security guarantees for the region and act as a protector of human rights. By 2020, the People's Armed Forces should mostly consist of high quality equipment manufactured and maintained inside Turkey.

For the past 60 years Turkish military equipment has primarily been sourced from the United States, Germany and France. While the equipment from these countries remains the highest quality and most reliable, the collapse of NATO and increasing competition between former allies has given rise to increasing fears inside the Ministry that vital military supplies could be denied to Turkey in case of a future war scenario. This concern is the primary cause for the self-reliance and diversification effort. However the extremely high cost of western equipment and the limited budget is almost as important as a factor. In particular questions have been raised if the higher quality of for example an American F-16 or French Dassault Rafale is outweighed by the quantitative advantage of purchasing a larger number of J-11s. Experts agree that Turkey should ideally seek out a balance of a relatively low number of very high quality equipment and a larger force of high quality but more affordable equipment.

It is expected in particular that the Ministry of National Defense will push the President to secure an arms sale agreement with the Republic of China in the upcoming state visit.