Nato Summit Convenes: Iraq And Afghanistan On Agenda

ISTANBUL (CÝHAN) - Iraq and Afghanistan issues are expected to top the crucial NATO Summit in Istanbul on June 28-29.
The leaders of 26 member countries of NATO, its 20 partner countries and two observer countries will discuss the Iraq and Afghanistan in the summit.
The opening session has been opened today at 9:30 with speech of the Secretary General of NATO Jaap De Hoop Scheffer.
The diplomatic sources say that Iraq issue will be most sensitive and disputed subject to be taken up in summit. The members will decide on the request of the Iraqi new government from NATO to train the Iraqi security forces. The NATO allies have to persuade France to give support to the NATO role in Iraq.
The alliance will discuss the role of NATO in Afghanistan. The members will discuss the expanding role of NATO in Afghanistan and enhancing security across Afghanistan ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. The formation of the construction teams in Afghanistan is to be taken up in the NATO summit.
NATO's Senior Civilian Representative for Afghanistan Hikmet Çetin and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will ask the alliance to prolong the mission of the NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been deploying some 5 000 peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Interim administration will ask NATO to increase the number to 10 thousand.
MASSIVE SECURITY MEASURES
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.
Turkish police have taken unprecedented security measures for the NATO summit that is bringing the leaders of 46 countries including US President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac together in Istanbul.
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. Istanbul governor office named 19 place in Istanbul where legal protests will take place.
A percussion bomb on Thursday had detonated before the Ankara Hilton Hotel where US President stayed yesterday evening, leaving 3 people including 2 police officers wounded. Four people were killed and 20 people were wounded on Thursday in a public bus in Istanbul when a percussion bomb went off.
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.