QA-20, 20 July 2014

While Turkey is in an intense struggle for stopping Israel’s attack on Gaza and ensuring a permanent ceasefire, we observe that the NATO radar in Kurecik has been brought into question in the context of some unfounded claims regarding Turkey’s position.

The NATO missile defense system and the radar in Kurecik, which is a part of this system, have entirely been established within the framework of the needs of our national security, and are aimed at protecting the popularions, territories and forces of Allied countries. In this framework, Turkey is also under the protective coverage of the system.

On the other hand, the system cannot provide protection to any country which is not a member of NATO. As is known, Israel is not a member of NATO. Information obtained from the NATO system is shared among the Allies within the framework of NATO’s existing procedures and is used for the defense of the Alliance. It is out of question to share this information with countries which are not NATO Allies. This was explicitly emphasized in public by the Secretary General of NATO when he visited Turkey in February 2012.