Turkey, Saudi Arabia Begin Joint Military Drills

• Turkey, Saudi Arabia Begin Joint Military Drills
  by www.presstv.com , 15 Feb 2016 
  Turkey and Saudi Arabia have begun joint air exercises, claiming it is within the framework of cooperation and military training between the two countries.
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  The Turkish military said in a statement that the five-day drills started on Monday, adding that six Saudi F-15 fighter jets are involved in the military exercises. The drills were planned in advance and are taking place in Turkey’s central region of Konya, the statement said.
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  Saudi Arabia and Turkey are widely believed to be among major sponsors of terrorist groups operating against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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  The joint drills started only a day after Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, a Saudi military spokesman, said Riyadh has dispatched warplanes to the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, claiming that the move was in line with the so-called fight against Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Syria.
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  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Ankara and Riyadh could launch a ground operation in Syria “if there is a strategy.”
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  Meanwhile, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad said on Monday Ankara is planning a military incursion into Syria in order to save Daesh militants.
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  “They [Turkish authorities] claim they will enter Syria to attack Daesh. In reality, they want to interfere in Syrian affairs to save Daesh, to save terrorism in our country,” Haddad said.
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  Earlier this month, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said Damascus would resist any ground incursion into its territory and would send the aggressors home “in coffins.”
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  Iran and Russia have also warned against the deployment of foreign ground forces into Syria, calling it a dangerous move which could lead to a permanent war.
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