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Turkey and Israel Bolster "Strategic" Military Ties
ANKARA, July 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Military cooperation between Israel and Turkey received another boost with Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer's visit to Ankara on Monday.
Ben Eliezer started a day of talks with Turkish leaders Monday in the hopes of boosting the already strong military cooperation between the two allies - an increasingly threatening alliance that has irked many Arab countries, notably Iraq which has complained to the Arab League about Turkish military intrusions.
"I came here ... definitely to deepen and strengthen the relations between both countries," Ben Eliezer said ahead of a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, according to the French news agency AFP.
"The main purpose of this visit is to strengthen the strategic ties between the two countries and to promote joint projects between the security establishments," he added.
Turkey, which is mainly Muslim but strictly secular, has been Israel's chief regional ally since 1996 -- when the two countries signed a military cooperation accord, alarming already vulnerable Muslim countries, including Syria and Iran.
Ben Eliezer's visit followed joint exercises between the air forces of Turkey, Israel and the United States in central Turkey last month -- the latest in a series of joint military drills in the past several years.
Joint defense industry projects were also high on the agenda of the talks, AFP reported.
"We will make an evaluation of our defense industry ties, which have recently significantly grown in number and scope," Cakmakoglu said.
"We hope this visit will give a new momentum to our bilateral, military and defense industry ties," he added.
The two ministers said that they would also discuss the tense situation between Israel and the Palestinians, whose demands for statehood are supported by Turkey, AFP reported.
Despite its close relations with Israel, Turkey has heavily criticized Israel for using excessive force against the Palestinians, with whom it maintains full-fledged diplomatic ties.
Ben Eliezer was also scheduled to meet with Turkish Chief of Staff Huseyin Kivrikoglu, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer before leaving Ankara late Monday.
In another development reflecting growing Arab concern about deepening Turkish-Israeli military cooperation, Baghdad has complained to the Arab League about continued Turkish military intrusions into northern Iraq, the official Iraqi News Agency reported Sunday.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tareq Aziz lodged the complaint in a message sent to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, condemning the recent Turkish intrusions.
Turkish troops stormed into northern Iraq on June 17 of this year and stayed there for three days. Fifty tanks were dispatched to Iraq's Arbil Province and another forty tanks were deployed in the Dahouk and Zakho districts.
Aziz condemned the Turkish intrusions as a flagrant aggression and violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Turkish move contradicts the U.N. Charter and international law, stressed Aziz, noting that it further went against the principle of neighborliness.
Aziz urged Moussa to step in to stop Turkey's hostile and provocative actions and demand that it respect Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Turkish troops repeatedly intrude into northern Iraq -- moves that Turkey always claims are "attempts to track down the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)."
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