Turkish defense minister represents Turkey in NATO meeting

BRUSSELS (A.A) - February 2, 2012 - Turkish National Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz is attending NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday. NATO defense ministers convened to discuss withdrawal timetable from Afghanistan and joint defense projects.  The meeting which will last for two days is being held as a preparation for NATO's summit that will be held in Chicago on May 20 and 21. Before the meeting, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, "Afghanistan is of course our top operational priority. And we are making progress. Every day, Afghan forces are growing stronger and more capable. They are leading around 40% of all combat operations. And they have started to provide security for half the Afghan population." "So our mission is going in the right direction. Our shared goal is for the Afghan forces to be in the lead for security all across the country by the end of 2014 – and we stick to that goal," he said.