The Turkish defense minister said on Thursday that Turkey desired to defend human rights and its benefits in Libya without intervening in this country’s domestic affairs.
Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul attended the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in the Belgian capital of Brussels and later held a press conference.
Speaking to reporters, Gonul said Turkey had contributed to NATO defense ministers’ latest decision to expand the NATO sea force deployed off Libyan coast and to develop advanced plans on various possibilities.
Gonul noted that Turkey’s attentive policy on Libya and NATO’s decisions concerning this country were parallel to each other.
"Our policy is based on the idea to protect human rights and our benefits in Libya in the best way without intervening in this country’s domestic affairs," he said.
Gonul also said that restructuring of NATO had been on the agenda of today’s defense ministers’ meeting and his bilateral talks with foreign officials.
Gonul said Turkey displayed efforts to eliminate the effects of NATO’s downsizing policy on itself.
The minister said it was of great importance that the NATO air base in Izmir stayed open in that context.
"We attach importance to the continuation of NATO’s presence in Turkey both for our national interests and the region’s stability," he noted.
Gonul said that NATO’s reshaping process had been discussed during his meetings with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates as well.
The minister also said he would hold talks with his British, Australian and New Zealander counterparts on Friday.