Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey and the United States have been preparing a defense summit.

Officials said U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel would arrive in Turkey and meet the leadership in late January.

They said Hagel, deemed a supporter of Ankara, would seek to resolve a range of bilateral and multilateral issues, particularly Turkey’s selection of the HQ-9 ballistic missile defense system from China.

“There are issues that will require hours of talks,” an official said.

The United States has not announced the Hagel visit. But officials said the U.S. defense secretary was expected to arrive in Ankara on Jan. 27 as part of his tour of NATO states.

Officials said Hagel was expected to urge Turkey to shelve its selection of HQ-9. They said the Defense Department and State Department warned that NATO would not allow its BMD systems to be linked to HQ-9.

During his visit, Hagel was expected to meet Prime Minister Recep
Erdogan and Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz. Officials said the talks were
expected to review the Sunni revolt in neighboring Syria.

Officials said Ankara would also urge Hagel to release U.S. combat
platforms, particularly the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. They said
Congress has opposed the export of Predator, designed to fire air-to-ground
missiles and sold to Britain and France.

  Chuck Hagel, HQ-9, Ismet Yilmaz, NATO, Recep Erdogan, U.S. plans quiet defense summit with Turkey in late January