Turkey has a lot of opportunities to provide stability in region, U.S. saysMay 12, 2008 - 18:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Despite Turkey having the largest army within the NATO alliance, it is also the least reformed and the least deployable one, said former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns in Washington.Delivering the Fourth Sakip Sabanci Lecture in the Center for the United States and Europe at Brookings (CUSE) Thursday, Burns said Turkey should increase its investments in its air and ground forces, emphasizing that countries should allocate more resources to their army from their gross national product. "In this respect Turkey is more advanced than most European countries," he said. Stressing that Turkey should be more actively involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Burns also asked the country to use its influence more directly against Syria and Iran, supporting sanctions. "The United States want to see a Turkey led by a modern, secular and civil government," he said. Explaining that Turkey has a lot of opportunities to provide stability in the region, Burns advised the government to start dialogue with Armenia and reopen the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary on Heybeliada. "Whoever is elected as the new U.S. president, his priority must be strategic partnership with Turkey," he said. Moreover the new president should also send a message to Germany and France, who are trying to stall the EU accession process, and say rejecting Turkey would be a huge mistake, according to Burns, the Turkish Daily News reports. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children Moscow slams EU mission in Armenia for “provocative activity” The EU mission is doing more and more against Armenia’s neighbors Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, Mikhail Galuzin said. Yerevan Mayor to travel to Paris on May 15-19 The official delegation headed by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan will travel to Paris from May 15 to 19. Armenia, India hold first defense consultations The meeting was attended by Indian Ambassador Nilakshi Saha Sinha and Defense Attaché Brigadier General Naveen Nijhawan. |