PRESS TV, Iran
May 11 2007

France to shut down armaments office
Fri, 11 May 2007 08:22:01

France has decided to close down its armaments office in Ankara by
the end of July due to the decline in arms trade between the two
countries.

France’s armaments attaché in Ankara, Col. Jean Claude Geay, who will
be completing his term of duty this summer told Today’s Zaman that
when he leaves in late July, the Armaments Attaché’s Office will also
be closed down as a result of the reduced mutual trade.

"The office may be reopened depending on future ties in the arms
trade" Col. Geay added.

The French decision to close down its office of the Délégation
Générale pour l’Armement (DGA), the French defense procurement
agency, in Ankara did not affect the French military attaché mission
in the city.

The DGA is a civilian arms procurement agency that operates in 15
countries overseeing 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 last October that made it a crime to
deny that Ottoman Turks committed `genocide’ against Armenians during
World War I.