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FRANCE CLOSES DOWN ARMAMENTS OFFICE IN TURKEY
Lale SariÝbrahÝmoÐlu Ankara
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 10 2007
Amid growing fears that Nicolas Sarkozy, elected as France's next
president in Sunday's election, could block Turkey's EU negotiations,
which have already suffered a setback due to Cyprus, France has
decided to close down its armaments office in Ankara by the end of
July due to the decline in mutual arms trade.
Col. Jean Claude Geay, who was appointed to Ankara as France's
armaments attache almost three years ago, will be completing his term
of duty this summer. He told Today's Zaman that when he leaves in
late July, the Armaments Attache's Office will also be closed down as
a result of the reduced trade between the two countries. Col. Geay,
however, stated that the office may be reopened depending on future
ties in the arms trade.
The French decision to close down its office of the Delegation Generale
pour l'Armement (DGA), the French defense procurement agency, in Ankara
did not affect the French military attache mission in the city. DGA
is a civilian arms procurement agency that oversees the country's
arms trade with its staff having special training on arms procurement.
The French decision comes after Turkey's announcement of the suspension
of military ties with France -- a reaction to the French Parliament's
approval of a bill in October of last year that made it a crime to
deny that Ottoman Turks committed "genocide" against Armenians during
World War I. Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen.
Ýlker Basbuð said on Nov. 15 of last year that Turkish military ties
with France had been suspended after French lawmakers' approval of
this so-called genocide bill.
Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said the following day
that France was not officially invited to the International Defense
Industry Fair (IDEF) 2007, to be held between 22 and 25 May in Ankara.
Though the Turkish announcement of the suspension of military
ties between the two countries did not include arms trade, French
participation in major arms procurement programs in Turkey has seen
a decline, though French companies have continued bidding in the arms
projects -- with little hope that they will win.
According to a September 2006 armaments report delivered to French
Parliament, Turkish military imports from France stayed at around
1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) between 1995 and 2005, partly due
to the Armenian genocide dispute.
Though France was not officially invited to IDEF French companies
such as Thales or Nexter (formerly known as Giat Industries) will
open stands at the fair.
Turkey's Meltem project, which envisions the joint production with
French Thales of 19 maritime patrol and surveillance systems for
Turkey's Navy and Coast Guard Command, has been continuing while French
companies bid in Turkish projects within the European Aeronautics
Defense and Space Company (EADS).
The DGA operates in 15 countries where there is the potential for
arms trade. Despite its closure in Ankara several French companies
continue operations in the capital.
Meanwhile the court case between the two countries at the International
Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
in Geneva continues. This concerns the decision of Turkey and MBDA
in 2004 to solve a dispute over a missile project at the court. MBDA
argued that Turkey has allegedly violated contract terms when it
cancelled Eryx short-range anti-tank missiles, while Ankara blames
MBDA for failing to meet its obligations.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense signed the Eryx contract with French
firm Aerospatiale -- now part of MBDA -- worth about 2.7 billion
French francs ($486.5 million) in 1988 to replace the Turkish Land
Force Command's outdated 3.5-inch rocket launcher and RPG-7s seized
from Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists. The deal aimed to
allow Turkey to build a total of 19,200 missiles and 1,600 launchers
under license over 10 years.
--Boundary_(ID_aiUR41WNa4vpiMHgGJQ+cA)--
Lale SariÝbrahÝmoÐlu Ankara
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 10 2007
Amid growing fears that Nicolas Sarkozy, elected as France's next
president in Sunday's election, could block Turkey's EU negotiations,
which have already suffered a setback due to Cyprus, France has
decided to close down its armaments office in Ankara by the end of
July due to the decline in mutual arms trade.
Col. Jean Claude Geay, who was appointed to Ankara as France's
armaments attache almost three years ago, will be completing his term
of duty this summer. He told Today's Zaman that when he leaves in
late July, the Armaments Attache's Office will also be closed down as
a result of the reduced trade between the two countries. Col. Geay,
however, stated that the office may be reopened depending on future
ties in the arms trade.
The French decision to close down its office of the Delegation Generale
pour l'Armement (DGA), the French defense procurement agency, in Ankara
did not affect the French military attache mission in the city. DGA
is a civilian arms procurement agency that oversees the country's
arms trade with its staff having special training on arms procurement.
The French decision comes after Turkey's announcement of the suspension
of military ties with France -- a reaction to the French Parliament's
approval of a bill in October of last year that made it a crime to
deny that Ottoman Turks committed "genocide" against Armenians during
World War I. Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen.
Ýlker Basbuð said on Nov. 15 of last year that Turkish military ties
with France had been suspended after French lawmakers' approval of
this so-called genocide bill.
Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said the following day
that France was not officially invited to the International Defense
Industry Fair (IDEF) 2007, to be held between 22 and 25 May in Ankara.
Though the Turkish announcement of the suspension of military
ties between the two countries did not include arms trade, French
participation in major arms procurement programs in Turkey has seen
a decline, though French companies have continued bidding in the arms
projects -- with little hope that they will win.
According to a September 2006 armaments report delivered to French
Parliament, Turkish military imports from France stayed at around
1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) between 1995 and 2005, partly due
to the Armenian genocide dispute.
Though France was not officially invited to IDEF French companies
such as Thales or Nexter (formerly known as Giat Industries) will
open stands at the fair.
Turkey's Meltem project, which envisions the joint production with
French Thales of 19 maritime patrol and surveillance systems for
Turkey's Navy and Coast Guard Command, has been continuing while French
companies bid in Turkish projects within the European Aeronautics
Defense and Space Company (EADS).
The DGA operates in 15 countries where there is the potential for
arms trade. Despite its closure in Ankara several French companies
continue operations in the capital.
Meanwhile the court case between the two countries at the International
Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
in Geneva continues. This concerns the decision of Turkey and MBDA
in 2004 to solve a dispute over a missile project at the court. MBDA
argued that Turkey has allegedly violated contract terms when it
cancelled Eryx short-range anti-tank missiles, while Ankara blames
MBDA for failing to meet its obligations.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense signed the Eryx contract with French
firm Aerospatiale -- now part of MBDA -- worth about 2.7 billion
French francs ($486.5 million) in 1988 to replace the Turkish Land
Force Command's outdated 3.5-inch rocket launcher and RPG-7s seized
from Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists. The deal aimed to
allow Turkey to build a total of 19,200 missiles and 1,600 launchers
under license over 10 years.
--Boundary_(ID_aiUR41WNa4vpiMHgGJQ+cA)--