BERLIN - Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul met with Bulgarian Minister of Defense Nikolai Svinarov on Sunday.
Speaking after the 15-minute meeting, Gonul said, ''Bulgaria is among the seven countries who have recently became NATO members. Turkey exerted great efforts for membership of Bulgaria and Romania to NATO.''
Gonul said Bulgarian minister thanked for Turkey's efforts, stating that they also discussed the joint acts the two countries would carry out within NATO.
Gonul said they also discussed ways of cooperation between the two countries in solution of problems in the Black Sea.
Asked about Turkey's expectations for the NATO summit that would take place in Istanbul, Gonul said, ''the expectations from the NATO summit are not national expectations. NATO is an international organization and convenes in Istanbul to fulfill its international targets. Agenda of the summit has not yet been clarified. When it becomes clear, it will be easier for us to evaluate the issues well.''
Replying to another question, Gonul said U.S. has not yet made an official request to Turkey for dispatch of soldiers to Iraq.
Gonul said Turkey was situated in a very important region for security, ''it has been stated that there were around 16 or 18 regions of clash on the world. 13 of them are around Turkey. So, Turkey's being a stable and secure country is a guarantee for everybody.''
Gonul said the budget Turkey allocated for defense is five percent of its national income, noting that no country in Europe, except Greece, allocates this budget. ''The budget they allocated for defense is one percent of their national income.''
(AY) 09.05.2004