Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release Regarding the Postponement of the International Phase of the Anatolian Eagle Exercise

October 12, 2009

Anatolian Eagle is a Turkish exercise open to international participation, conducted on a regular basis and executed in several phases throughout the year in accordance with the scenarios prepared by the Turkish General Staff.

Having completed the first two phases successfully, the international part of the third phase of the exercise, which was planned to be held on 12-13 October 2009, has been postponed in consultation with the other participant countries. The exercise is being conducted as a national activity. This fact was indeed announced to the public on the web site of the Turkish General Staff

Hence, it is inappropriate to draw a political meaning and conclusion from the postponement of the international part of the exercise.

In this framework, it is impossible to accept the assessments and comments attributed to Israeli officials in the press. We invite Israeli officials to common sense in their stance and statements.