Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, Spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, held a weekly press briefing at the 2nd Air Maintenance Factory Directorate in Kayseri.
While information about the activities of the Turkish Armed Forces, defense industry projects and border security was shared at the meeting, the Ministry answered journalists' questions about the developments on the agenda after the meeting.
ACCEPTANCE ACTIVITY OF HÜRKUŞ-II WAS CARRIED OUT
Aktürk stated that efforts to strengthen the modern and effective defense force of the Turkish Armed Forces with the advanced technology products of the domestic and national defense industry are continuing, and said, "On September 28, the acceptance activity of our New Generation Basic Training Aircraft HÜRKUŞ-II was held at TAI's Kahramankazan facilities with the participation of our Air Force Commander and Deputy Minister Mr. Salih Ayhan."
Stating that the inspection and acceptance activities of various amounts of Wheeled Weapon Carrier Vehicles were completed by the Land Forces Command last week, Aktürk said that 81 millimeter mortar ammunition and 155 millimeter concrete-piercing artillery fuses were delivered to the Land Forces Command by MKE, and the Azak warhead was delivered to defense industry stakeholders.
“ONE PKK TERRORIST SURROUNDED IN THE LAST WEEK”
Giving information about the anti-terrorism activities, Aktürk said, "Our Turkish Armed Forces continue their activities with determination and determination against all kinds of risk and threats in order to ensure the security of our country, protect the peace of our nation and preserve the survival of our state."
Aktürk said, "In this context, one more PKK terrorist has surrendered in the last week."
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE BLOCKED AT THE BORDERS REACHED 52 THOUSAND 487
Sharing data on border security, Aktürk said, "712 people trying to cross our borders illegally, including 1 member of a terrorist organization, were caught, and the number of people caught trying to cross our borders illegally from January 1 to today is 12 thousand 706."
Aktürk said, "With the 1,149 people blocked, the number of people blocked at our borders this year has reached 52,487." It was reported that 412 kilograms and 741 grams of drugs were seized during the search and scanning activities carried out on the Van border line.
ATHENS THEME BETWEEN Türkiye AND GREECE
Regarding Turkey-Greece relations, Aktürk said, "Within the framework of the Turkey-Greece Confidence Building Measures Implementation Plan, our National Defense University will visit the Greek National Defense College in Athens between 7-9 October."
STATEMENT FROM Ministry of National Defense about GREECE-GCARY POWER CABLE
After the meeting, the Ministry of National Defense gave the following answer to the question regarding the electricity cable route between Greece and Greek Cypriot Administration:
"In accordance with international law, any cable/pipe laying or scientific research activities to be carried out on our continental shelf must be coordinated in advance with our country, which is a coastal state. Our country will not allow any unauthorized activities on our continental shelf within the framework of its rights and powers arising from being a coastal state in the continental shelf, which were shaped by the Maritime Jurisdiction Area Limitation Agreements signed with the TRNC and Libya in the Eastern Mediterranean and declared to the United Nations on March 18, 2020."
“GCASC'S ARMAMENT ACTIVITIES NEGATIVELY AFFECT SENSITIVE BALANCES”
In the statement made by the Ministry of National Defense regarding the military parade held in the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, the following statements were used:
"The military parade held in the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus was followed closely. As we have stated before, we emphasize once again that the ongoing armament activities of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and the military cooperation developed with third countries negatively affect the delicate balances and environment of trust on the Island. It is clear that the provocative actions carried out by the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and Greece do not contribute to the efforts to establish mutual trust on the Island, on the contrary, they increase the tension and damage the environment of stability.
As the guarantor country, we reiterate that a fair, permanent and sustainable solution on the Island of Cyprus is possible by accepting the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people. "Our country will continue to take the necessary measures in cooperation with the TRNC authorities to protect the security, peace and welfare of the Turkish Cypriot people today and in the future, as in the past."
BASHIKA-ZILKAN COMPOUND WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO IRAQ
Ministry of National Defense gave the following answer to the question regarding the termination of the Turkish Armed Forces' duty at the Bashiqa base in Iraq:
"We welcome the recent steps taken by the Central Iraqi Government to establish state authority in Sinjar. We evaluate that these steps will contribute to the normalization of the region and the creation of an environment of security and stability and a terrorist-free zone. Since 2015, upon the request of the Iraqi authorities, the Bashiqa-Zilkan Campus, which has been used by the Turkish Armed Forces within the scope of the fight against the DAESH terrorist organization, will be gradually removed, within the framework of the progress made by the security practices of the Central Iraqi Government in Sinjar, in line with the agreed mechanism and timeline. It was decided to hand him over to Iraqi authorities.
Our country stands by our neighbor Iraq today, as it did yesterday, in ensuring the security environment and stability in the region. It is planned to take steps that will take the military and security cooperation between Türkiye and Iraq to a much higher level during the contacts to be held in the coming period. Iraqi Armed Forces within the framework of bilateral agreements; "We will continue to provide support in the areas of increasing military capacity, sharing experience/expertise in the fight against terrorism, military training and defense industry cooperation."
THE FIRST 2 C-130J WILL BE DELIVERED IN DECEMBER
The Ministry's statement regarding the C-130J procurement process said:
"The agreement for the supply of 12 C-130J aircraft from the United Kingdom has been signed between the two countries. In line with the determined schedule, it is aimed to gradually bring the aircraft to our country after the ongoing maintenance activities in the United Kingdom. In this context, the first two aircraft are planned to be delivered in December. On the other hand, the training activities of our personnel are continuing simultaneously, as well as the training of six pilots and six technicians in the USA, and the training of 29 maintenance personnel in the United Kingdom, as planned, in line with the determined schedule."
