The USS Donald Cook, which has ballistic missile defense capabilities, visited the Aksaz Naval Base between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 and moved to the Eastern Mediterranean on Nov. 2 in order to attend the “Eastern Mediterranean Sea Exercise,” Turkish military sources told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Elements of the Turkish Naval Forces including submarines, surface and air defense units, conducted joint training with the USS Donald Cook aimed at enhancing military coordination between the two countries.
Military sources stressed that NATO was closely monitoring the increasing military presence of Russia in the Eastern Mediterranean and the threat posed by ballistic missiles of the Syrian regime. They said Ankara was continuing its discussions with NATO and other allies for the defense of Turkey.
Meanwhile, the Russian Navy’s Vice-Admiral Kulakov, an Udaloy-class destroyer, has entered the Mediterranean Sea, the Sputnik News agency quoted Northern Fleet spokesperson Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga as saying on Nov. 5.
NATO will outline proposals next month for a new “southern strategy” in response to mounting instability across the Middle East and Russia’s growing military presence south of the Bosphorus, the Financial Times reported on Nov. 4.
The strategy will focus on a range of measures including increased surveillance and reconnaissance activities across the Mediterranean by NATO forces, deployments of NATO troops in advisory roles to crisis-hit countries across north Africa and the Middle East, and reinforced permanent NATO military deployments in the region, according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“We will discuss a southern strategy at our foreign ministerial which will take place on Dec. 1 and 2,” said Stoltenberg in Zaragoza, Spain. “There we will have a report addressing and assessing the challenges we face to the south.”
“Freedom of navigation [in the Mediterranean] is fundamentally important to NATO,” General Adrian Bradshaw, NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander said. “As we observe the deployment of more sophisticated [Russian] capabilities with considerable reach it becomes more and more important that we refresh our deterrence.”
Sevil Erkuş
hurriyetdailynews.com
5/11/15
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La marine de guerre US en Méditerranée orientale pour protéger la Turquie...
ReplyDeleteLa marine de guerre américaine sera présente dans la partie est de la Méditerranée pour assurer la sécurité de la Turquie, selon le ministère des Affaires étrangères du pays.
"Récemment, un navire de guerre américain est entré dans la base militaire turque d'Aksaz. De telles visites continueront. L'escorteur d'escadre USS Donald Cook et des vaisseaux semblables seront toujours présents à l'est de la Méditerranée pour protéger la Turquie et leur présence sera renforcée", a déclaré le porte-parole du ministère turc de la Défense Tanju Bilgiç.
L'USS Donald Cook est doté de missiles Aegis capables d'intercepter tous les missiles balistiques, ainsi que de missiles de croisière Tomahawk qui sont parfois équipés d'ogives nucléaires.
Le secrétaire général de l'OTAN Jens Stoltenberg a auparavant déclaré que l'alliance discutait de la possibilité de laisser les systèmes d'armes sol-air Patriot en Turquie pour l'année 2016 mais que cette décision n'était pas encore prise..........http://sptnkne.ws/aaPY