Turkey: Updating NATO's security codes 'inevitable'

ANKARA

Given the threats Turkey faces, updating NATO's security codes will be "inevitable", the Turkish vice president said Thursday.

Speaking at a public event in the capital Ankara, Fuat Oktay said that through its "historic agreement" with Libya on maritime frontiers in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey had made an "important contribution" to "sustainable peace".

He added that the Turkish parliament would vote on the Turkey-Libya deal on Thursday.

The Turkish vice president said that peace and Turkey-Libya fellowship will triumph in the Eastern Mediterranean with the parliament's vote.

On Nov. 27, at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) signed the memorandum laying out the two countries’ marine jurisdictions.

Libya, an oil-rich country, has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising after four decades in power.

The country has since seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, to which military commander Khalifa Haftar is affiliated, and the Government of National Accord, which enjoys UN recognition.

The memorandum asserts Turkey’s rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to the resources in the area.

Turkey, meanwhile, has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting that the TRNC also has rights to the resources in the area.

Speaking about terrorism and irregular migration, the Turkish vice president said these issues have reached advanced levels, adding that no single country can solve the problem alone without cooperation.

"The NATO Leaders Summit, which was conducted in such an environment, has once again demonstrated the value of the alliance," he said.

He also reiterated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the summit called on allies to show a "common attitude towards terror".

"Turkey's borders are also the borders of NATO and attacks occurred in our region are directly related to NATO," he said.

Oktay went on to say that NATO allies will be much stronger on the basis of "sincere solidarity" against the common threat of terrorism.