US chides Turkey for canceling NATO air exercises because Israel was participating
By APTuesday, October 13, 2009
US faults Turks for canceling NATO air exercises
WASHINGTON — The United States has chided Turkey for canceling a NATO military exercise because Israel also was participating.
Neither the Turks nor NATO has confirmed that Israel’s participation in the exercises over Turkey was Ankara’s reason for pulling out.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Tuesday, however, that “as to the question of whether there was a government that was invited to participate and then removed at the last minute, we think it’s inappropriate for any nation to be removed from an exercise like this at the last minute.”
He was asked whether that was what happened and whether Israel was the spurned country. He confirmed both.
Muslim Turkey’s traditionally close ties with the Jewish state have cooled since the Israel-Hamas Gaza war in January.
