Ankara, August 19: Turkey’s joint military drills with US and Israel do not target any other country, unnamed officials as well as Turkey’s military say.
The exercise does not serve in any way the Israeli interests, nor does it target any other nation, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported on Tuesday.
The daily did not mention any official by name. It only said that according to a senior diplomat, the exercises are of ‘non-threatening nature’. Quoting Turkish military sources, it said that the exercises serve humanitarian-aid purposes and help develop search-and-rescue capabilities.
The navies and air forces of Turkey, Israel and the United States are taking part in drills dubbed ‘Reliant Mermaid X’ that began on Monday and will continue until Friday in the eastern Mediterranean.
The three navies will rehearse naval rescue missions and work to improve their level of coordination. Eight ships, four helicopters and three search and rescue aircraft from the three countries are taking part, the paper said.
Turkey and Israel have developed close ties following a military cooperation agreement made in 1996.
—–Agencies