Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul Tuesday denied reports that an arms deal was signed between Turkey and Israel ahead of the Gaza operation, local Dogan News Agency reported on Tuesday.
"The arms deal has nothing to do with the attacks. No military agreement was signed (with Israel) during our governments," the report quoted Gonul as saying, adding that the agreement in question was signed many years ago and its contents were not related with the recent political developments.
Turkish government came under fire after some media reports suggested that an arms deal worth 167 million U.S. dollars was signed with Israel ahead of the Gaza operations.
According to the reports, Turkey and Israel have a strong partnership in military equipment and arms. The trade volume between the two was 2.6 billion dollars in 2007, among which some suggest 1.8 billion dollars is attributed to military equipment trade.
Turkey has maintained one of the harshest rhetorics against Israel over its incursion in Gaza.
Source:Xinhua
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