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Turkish Defense Minister on U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Turkey

08 April 2010 03:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said Wednesday that there was no official information about the U.S.’s leaving some of its nuclear weapons in Turkey, APA reports quoting turkishny.com web-page. Gonul visited Governor Mevlu Bilici of the central Anatolian province of Kayseri on Wednesday.
When a reporter recalled the news stories saying the U.S. had nuclear weapons in Turkey and it would leave some of them in Turkey, Gonul said that an official information had not been made yet.
However, Turkey acceded to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) to reduce the nuclear weapons, added Gonul.
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe was signed by the State Parties in Paris, on November 19, 1990, during the Summit of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Upon its approval by the parliaments of the State Parties, the Treaty entered into force on July 17, 1992. Turkey is one of the State Parties to CFE Treaty. CFE Treaty is one of the milestones in the way of disarmament and it is legally binding.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled his administration’s new nuclear strategy that reduces the role of atomic arms in U.S. security. Under the new plan, the U.S. promises not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them. Obama’s plan would lessen the role nuclear weapons play in U.S. defense planning.
An International Nuclear Security Summit will take place in Washington D.C. on April 12 and 13. Turkish Prime Minister will attend the summit.