TURKEY HAS U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS, NOW IT SAYS IT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE SOME OF ITS OWN

BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 9/4/19 AT 6:13 PM EDT

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has argued that his country should be allowed to develop nuclear weapons as other major powers have.

Addressing the Central Anatolian Economic Forum in the central province of Sivas, Erdogan lauded the expansion of the Turkish defense industry, especially recent conversations with the United States and Russia, while hinting at future talks with China. He then recalled how "some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads" and "not just one or two."

"But I cannot possess missiles with nuclear warheads? I do not accept that," Erdogan said. "Right now, nearly all the countries in the developed world have nuclear missiles."

The U.S. currently has an estimated 50 of its nuclear weapons deployed to Turkey as part of the NATO Western military alliance's nuclear sharing policy, according to an accidentally-released NATO report published in July by Belgian newspaper De Morgen. The weapons, located at Incirlik Base, are under U.S. control, but some have raised concerns as to their safety there amid regional instability and political differences.

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