Simitis said the cooperation might be based on decreasing the amount spent on armaments. Turco-Greek Monitoring Committee, discussed confidence building measures and the issue of double taxation. Stating the Greek Cypriot administration is a big obstacle to Turco-EU relations, a high level Turkish diplomat said Greek Cypriot Administration would probably be an EU member by 2003. We should also debate this issue in our Parliament. Balance is achieved between similar powers having equal means.
Turkey considers Greece a small regional problem.
With 600,000 soldiers, Turkey needs to arm itself against Iran, Iraq and Syria. In this context, there cannot be an arms balance between Turkey and Greece. Acting NATO President Murat Sokmenoglu issued a statement on the alliance's 52nd anniversary saying Turkey has proved its importance for the security and stability in Europe, Anatolian Agency reported yesterday. In the second half of the 20th century, NATO took on an important and effective role to increase its members' security and defense, he added. He said NATO was still in charge today of the Europe-Atlantic region's security, and had entered the new century as a military and economic power.