|
Tuesday, April 05 2005 @ 10:00 PM Central Daylight Time
|
 NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Guenther Altenburg said on Tuesday that Turkey had always played a key role in NATO.
Addressing the 15th International Security and Cooperation Conference held in southern city of Antalya, Altenburg said that NATO was also effected by today's threats of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and for that reason NATO gave up its former geographical understanding and extended its area of activity till Afghanistan.
Stressing that NATO had to work in harmony with organizations like UN and OSCE, Altenburg said that NATO should also found the same relation with the EU. NATO also wanted to improve relations with the countries of the Black Sea, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Altenburg stressed that "Turkey plays a key role in NATO now as it has always played."
Replying to a question, Altenburg said that the EU Defense Agency would complement NATO and that there would be coordination between the EU Defense Agency and NATO rapid deployment force.
Stressing that Turkey's being a Muslim country is not important for the NATO or the EU, Altenburg said that "we are not interested in that issue. During NATO Istanbul summit, NATO decided to make cooperation with Kuwait, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. There is no discrimination about people's beliefs. Turkey's contributions to NATO have always been important. Whenever a Turkish representative speaks in NATO sessions, everybody listens to him/her knowing that he/she is going to say an important thing... Turkey is the best example of a democratic country." |
|
