Turkey plans new base on Black Sea following Russia-Georgia war
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
ANKARA Ñ Turkey plans to construct a naval base in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.
Military sources said the planned base represented a naval policy to increase Turkey's military presence in the Black Sea.
"This will become an increasingly important body of water given new energy pipelines that will pass through Turkey," a military source said.
Turkey already has one naval base along the Black Sea. The sources said the United States has urged NATO ally Turkey to increase its naval presence in the Black Sea in wake of the Russian-Georgian war in 2008.
On March 4, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported the new base would be located 600 kilometers east of the current naval facility along the Black Sea. The existing base was operating in the Karadeniz Eregli district in the northern province of Zonguldak.
The sources said the new base would be equipped with facilities to refuel and service Turkish Navy warships. Construction was expected to begin around September 2009.
The United States has also been examining the possibility of a naval presence in Turkey. The U.S. Navy has been planning to leave the Manas base in Kyrgyzstan, scheduled close in 2009.