Ramussen arrives in Turkey

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Turkey yesterday on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Turkey's accession to the alliance. Rasmussen will meet President Abdullah Gul and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, participate in a Joint Meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees of the Turkish Parliament, and deliver an address at a conference organized by the Turkish Atlantic Council.  Reportedly, the agenda of the next NATO summit to be held in Chicago in May, members' financial support to the alliance and a solution to the problems between Russia and NATO will be discussed during the talks. Ahead of his visit to Turkey, Rasmussen said during a visit to Athens that the Cyprus problem negatively affected NATO's relations with the EU. He also expressed hope that a solution to the Cyprus issue would be finally arrived before July 1, when the Greek Cyprus assumes the EU presidency. Rasmussen added that all of the allies were equal within NATO and that he considered both Greece and Turkey as critically important allies.