Us secretary of defense to visit Ankara us
YAYINLAMA
GÜNCELLEME
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta will travel to Ankara on December 16, where he will be received by President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Panetta will also meet with Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu during his visit to Turkey at a time when the withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq will be completed. As part of his visit, officials from Ankara are likely to stress that the fight against terrorism is one of the most sensitive issues to Turkey and reiterate that they expect the US to further support Turkey on the issue. Among other issues to be on the agenda are developments following the Arab Spring, its impacts on the region, Iran, as well as Turkey’s gladness about the predator and super cobra helicopter support from the US within the framework of its fight against terrorism. Panetta is also expected to discuss Turkish-Israeli relations with Turkish officials.