Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Turkey and the United States have conducted a review of
defense and military cooperation.

The two countries discussed existing and new projects during a meeting
in Washington on May 17 between Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his
Turkish counterpart, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz. Officials said the
meeting was dominated by the war in Syria, Turkey’s neighbor.

“The leaders spoke at length about regional security issues,
particularly the two countries’ shared concerns over the complex threats in Syria,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said. “They reaffirmed their
efforts to work with allies and partners to support an inclusive transition
that guarantees the Syrian people universal rights.”

Little said Hagel also met Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Fidan, identified as a confidante of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, was deemed a key figure in international support to the Sunni revolt against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Officials said the Turkish delegation pressed Hagel and other officials
for the release of advanced combat platforms. They cited the Predator B
unmanned aerial vehicle, used in U.S. combat missions in Afghanistan,
Pakistan and Yemen and long denied Ankara.

“The meeting included discussion of continued opportunities for
military-to-military partnership,” the Pentagon said.

In a statement, the Pentagon said Hagel said the administration of
President Barack Obama was committed to the deployment in Turkey of six
Patriot air and missile defense batteries by NATO. Washington has
contributed two of the batteries, with others supplied by Germany and the
Netherlands.

“Hagel also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Turkey as a strong NATO
ally, and he conveyed strong U.S. support of Turkey’s security interests,
including the ongoing NATO deployment of Patriot missiles to southern
Turkey,” Little said.

  Ahmet Davutoglu, Chuck Hagel, Hakan Fidan, Ismet Yilmaz, Predator B UAV, Recep Erdogan, Syria tops agenda in talks between Hagel, Turkish defense chief, Turkish defense chiefs