ANKARA
Turkish national defense minister has said that a deadly suicide blast at a security checkpoint on the perimeter of the US Embassy compound in Ankara shown again people that in the new security environment cooperation between countries had become more important than ever in fight against terrorism.
Minister Yilmaz received US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion of the visit, Yilmaz said that the US was an important country for Turkey both in the framework of NATO and on the basis of bilateral relations, named either strategic partnership or model partnership.
Condemning Friday's heinous attack against the US Embassy in Ankara, Yilmaz expressed his deep sorrow.
"This unfortunate incident has again shown us that in the new security environment in which cooperation between countries has become more important than ever, fight against terrorism has great importance and needs cooperation. In this context I would like to mention my firm believe in our current cooperation for fight against terrorism will increase and continue," said Yilmaz.
Yilmaz stated that the frequency of visits between Turkey and USA was a reflection of the importance that we both attached to their bilateral relations and gave chance to deepen their cooperation. Taking the opportunity, Yilmaz thanked Washington for supporting Turkey with Germany and Netherlands in terms of deploying Patriot missiles system in south of Turkey.
"Patriot systems, which are deployed completely for defense purposes, is an indicator of solidarity of the alliance and the cooperation between Turkey and the US," Yilmaz said.
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, in his part, thanked Yilmaz for their hospitality.
Touching on the attack against the embassy, Carter said, "We thank Turkish government for everything it does to combat terrorism."
"There is an ongoing investigation of this incident with cooperation of Turkish authorities. I think it is too early to say exactly what the cause was, but the facts are clear, a security officer carrying out his duties was killed. It was clear that this is a kind of uncivilized terrorist attack. In weeks and months ahead, the Turkish authorities and we will act together to find out what happened, prevent a similar terror act from happening again and bring to justice anybody associated with the attack," he said.
