Noone says ‘one minute’ to the military exercise with Israel

soL English

Noone says ‘one minute’ to the military exercise with Israel
Friday, 14 August 2009

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Turkey, Israel and USA will conduct a joint naval and air force
exercise. Turkey will host the rescue and relief exercise dubbed
Reliant Mermaid. The exercise manifests the growing collaboration of
three countries in the East Mediterranean.
Naval and air forces of Turkey, Israel and USA will gather to conduct
the rescue and relief exercise dubbed ‘Relient Mermaid’. In the
exercise, efficient and rapid response to maritime emergencies and
humanitarian assistance and the coordination for that purpose of all
three countries’ naval and air forces are targeted.
In the exercise 8 ships, 4 helicopters and three search-and-rescue
planes from three countries will take part. The exercis that will be
conducted between August 17-21 in Turkey was conducted last year in
the international waters 40 km away from Israel’s Haifa Port. Lebanon
and Syria, two East Mediterranean countries do not take part in the
exercise which is presented to have a rescue and relief
purposes. Moreover, Turkey do not have joint rescue and relief
exercises with these two countries of the region.
After the exercise starts, there will be a press meeting in the Aksaz
Naval Base in Marmaris. The exercise which points to increasing
collaboration of Turkey with Israel and USA was first conducted in
January 7, 1998. These exercises are conducted every year in the East
Mediterranean and they are the result of Turkey-Israel collaboration
agreement of 1996 and a military agreement between USA and Israel.
While limited information about the exercise is written in Turkey,
Israeli press underlines the fact that ‘Reliable Mermaid’ is the first
joint military exercise since Davos crisis. According to the Israeli
press, the exercise proves that after the Davos crisis, both
countries’ authorities’ declarations that they have no problems in
relations is true. In Turkey, however, the exercise is presented
merely as a search and rescue exercise.

http://english.sol.org.tr/news/international