GREECE/TURKEY: NATO partners Greece and Turkey have agreed to deep cuts in defence spending, confirming the big thaw in relations, newspapers said yesterday.
The cuts would also be in line with economic reforms the European Union expects from Turkey, which hopes to begin EU entry talks next year, the mass-circulation Sabah daily said.
Turkish defence minister Mr Vecdi Gonul and his Greek counterpart, Mr Spilios Spiliotopoulos, agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Monday to rein in their defence budgets, Sabah said, but it was not immediately clear how much each side would cut.
Greek newspapers said Mr Spiliotopoulos had not yet decided the size of Greece's cuts and signalled the two sides might make an announcement at a NATO summit in Istanbul next month.
The Greek media also said Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army, could slash up to $10 billion from its military expenditure. The Turkish defence ministry was not immediately able to comment on the reports, which come on the heels of a landmark trip to Athens by the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey last week cancelled a tender to purchase 145 helicopters in a deal which would have been worth up to $4.5 billion. It also scrapped tenders for surveillance aircraft and tanks, saying it would seek a greater role for domestic firms in the production of military hardware.
Greece has vowed to lower its defence spending to four per cent by next year from a current five per cent. Turkey spends about the same, although extra-budgetary funds make it difficult to determine its exact expenditure, observers say.
A centuries-old rivalry between the Aegean Sea neighbours has eased in recent years, beginning with an outpouring of mutual sympathy after devastating earthquakes hit both countries in 1999.
The Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister, Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, said he expected to have to call fresh general elections after a member of parliament resigned, cutting crucial numbers for his precarious coalition government.
But analysts said fresh polls could actually strengthen Talat's hand after a referendum on a UN plan to reunite Cyprus showed strong support for his pro-reunification stance.
"I believe we're heading towards an election," Mr Talat said following the resignation of lawmaker Mr Nuri Cevikel, which leaves Mr Talat's coalition with only 23 seats in the 50-seat parliament.