ANKARA - Head of a United Nations weapons watchdog expressed gratitude for Turkey`s efforts for the global endeavor to prohibit chemical weapons, saying the country "contributed to both world`s and its own security not only by joining the convention but also by actively implementing it."
"I am utterly pleased with Turkish efforts in this area and I hope that other countries in the region would find an inspiration in Turkey," said Rogelio Pfirter, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Pfirter said Turkey was a distinguished member of the organization and it exerted concrete efforts to have regional countries adopt principles of the OPCW.
Pfirter was in Turkish capital Ankara from March 16th to 19th and he met Turkish officials including Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
"I had a very good dialogue with the minister, and I got words of a very strong support for the convention itself and for the objective of freeing the world from the weapons of mass destruction, and most specifically from the chemical weapons. It was an excellent visit, a demonstration of a very strong support the convention enjoys in Turkey," Pfirter told the AA in an interview.
(YMB-MS)