Turkey's NATO membership part of its international identity, says National Defense Minister Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (A.A) - February 20, 2012 - Turkey's National Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said Monday that "NATO membership was part of Turkey's international identity". Speaking at the inauguration of a symposium on NATO's future role at the Istanbul Aydin University on Monday, Minister Yilmaz stressed that NATO membership shaped Turkey's international security and defense policies and that such membership was crucial for Turkey with an increasing importance daily. With a membership of 28 countries, NATO has different partnership mechanisms in different parts of the globe, Yilmaz said. While it was a regional defense organization initially, NATO is determined to become a global security organization. NATO's open door policy for new memberships serve its aim of becoming a global security organization, Yilmaz noted. We want every country from the Balkans and every country from the Middle East to join this organization. Georgia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia are candidates...We want this open door to make every country a member, Yilmaz stressed. Turkey is an important member of NATO. While conventional threat in the post-Cold War era has diminished, new threats such as terrorism, regional instability, radical waves, organized crime gangs, illicit drug and human trafficking, illegal migration and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have made international cooperation necessary, Yilmaz underlined. NATO has begun a comprehensive transformation in reaction to the new security atmosphere, Yilmaz said. In a recent Lisbon summit, a decision was taken to develop a defense system against ballistic missiles. As part of this defense system, Turkey permitted the presence of an 'Early Warning Radar' system on its territory. The radar facilitates the common defense of allies and does not target any specific country. The radar system is an indication of Turkey's contribution to the collective defense system, Yilmaz emphasized. Touching on Turkey's financial contributions to NATO, Minister Yilmaz underlined that Turkey contributed 3.68 percent of the total NATO budget. With the amount of financial contributions, Turkey ranks eighth among all NATO members, Yilmaz said. Currently, NATO has missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, off the coast of Somalia and in the Mediterranean. NATO is a source of security for Turkey. Turkey has been and will continue to be an important part of NATO, Yilmaz added. Turkey hosts the Land Forces headquarters of NATO in the western province of Izmir.