ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - World leaders continue to arrive in Istanbul on Saturday for the NATO Summit to take place on June 28-29 at which the representatives of 46 countries are expected to attend.
Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi, Poland Defense Minister Yerzi Szmaj Pznski, Lithuanian President Arthuros Pavlavuskos, Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, Slovenian Prime Minister Anton Rot have arrived in Istanbul on Sunday for NATO summit starting tomorrow.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Romanian Foreign Minister Geocino Mircan, the US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and NATO General Secretary Jaap De Hoop Scheffer had arrived in Istanbul on Saturday.
Turkish police have taken unprecedented security measures for the NATO summit that will bring together many world leaders including US President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac in Istanbul.
Security across Turkey is under the spotlight in the build-up to the NATO Summit to be held in Istanbul on June 28-29. Istanbul will be under air, sea and land security watch during the NATO summit.
Nearly three thousand delegates from 46 countries and 3500 journalists are expected to arrive in Turkey to follow the Summit.Nearly 20 thousand security force personnel will be on duty during the summit.
Turkish and foreign NGOs already are planning to hold joint mass demonstrations to protest NATO and America during the NATO Summit in Istanbul on June 28-29.
Ships and boats of the Turkish Navy and Turkish Coast Guard have begun patrolling the Bosphorus Strait off Istanbul which will be under the constant surveillance of the strait's security system's cameras 24 hours a day for the coming three days.
Both the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles were closed to ships carrying explosive materials, arms and petrol from the early hours of Saturday.