Posted 22.05.2012 12:30:06 UTC
Updated 22.05.2012 12:49:11 UTC
President Abdullah Gül represented Turkey at the summit.
Evaluating the summit President Abdullah Gül said Turkey has become more visible in the world and the things it said in the summit were listened very carefully.
Regarding his meeting with French President François Hollande President Gül said that the meeting occurred in such a positive atmosphere that cannot be compared with the previous period.
President Abdullah Gül said that his meeting with US President Barack Obama took place in a positive atmosphere and he asked Obama to show a more rational approach towards the sales of Unmanned Air Vehicles.
President Gül told that preparations were made for a strategic cooperation agreement between Turkey and Afghanistan and for this problem the whole world should carefully listen to Pakistan.
NATO Ballistic Missile Defense System
Besides, the installation stages of a NATO Ballistic Missile Defense System to cover whole Europe were also taken up at the summit.
US President Barack Obama said in a speech he made at the end of the summit that the first of the four stages of the defense system, which is stationed on the Turkish soil, has become fully operational and given to the NATO command.
“We agreed that Missile Defense System will be under the NATO umbrella. The US support for this end will be gradual…Our radar system in Turkey will be under the NATO command. Spain, Romania, Poland have all accepted to host American facilities in their countries. The Netherlands renewed its radars. We also seek the contribution of our other Allied countries,” said an American official.
Missile Defense System is not against Russia
US President Obama especially underlined that the Missile Defense System is not against Russia, contrary, he added, they seek Moscow’s cooperation on the matter.
The NATO Summit in Chicago, which was attended by more than 50 countries of 28 which were Alliance members, primarily took up Afghan withdrawal strategy.
NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan
According to the plan approved at the summit, NATO will shift full responsibility to Afghan forces for security across the country by the next year and then withdraw most of the alliance's 130,000 combat troops by the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari could not be convinced to open NATO supply road in his country.
In the meantime, anti-NATO protestors keep staging demonstrators in Chicago even after the summit ended.
The protestors demanded to spend the US tax-payers money to create new jobs rather than spending it for NATO operations.