Turkey to contribute more to UN peacekeeping, says PM

NEW YORK

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that Turkey would provide additional officers and aircraft to UN's peacekeeping operations.

"Taking into consideration the complex nature of today's conflicts, it seems that peacekeeping operations will remain as one of the most important tools of the UN in the near future," Davutoglu said at a peacekeeping summit on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly.

The summit was hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Davutoglu said Turkey committed to deploy five staff officers to the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and one transport aircraft to the UN force in Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

He added that the Turkish Armed Forces would stand ready to contribute to the training of troops participating in UN peacekeeping operations, and its navy would provide training in the field of maritime security for naval personnel taking part in UN operations.

"One of the most important aspects of peace operations is peace building. Once there is a peace on the ground, no effort should be spared by the international community to minimize the risk of relapsing into a conflict and to lay the foundations for sustainable peace," Davutoglu said.

"It is our firm belief that the international community should demonstrate solidarity and exert the necessary political will to travel the extra mile which will carry UN peace operations to the future," he added.

Turkey has presence in UN peacekeeping operations including in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Somalia, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 106,000 troops and police serve in the UN's 16 peacekeeping missions worldwide.

In his opening remarks at the summit, Obama said he issued new presidential guidance -- the first in more than 20 years -- to expand U.S. support for UN peace operations.

"We’ll work to double the number of U.S. military officers serving in peacekeeping operations", he said. "We will offer logistical support, including our unrivaled network of air- and sea-lift. When there's an urgent need and we’re uniquely positioned to help, we’ll undertake engineering projects like building airfields and base camps for new missions."

There are currently 78 Americans serving with UN peace missions, although Washington is the largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts.