Hulusi Akar

Turkey's defense minister said he had a "positive" meeting with his Greek counterpart in Brussels, on the sidelines of a gathering of their NATO colleagues.

"We had a positive and constructive meeting with the Greek defense minister (Nikos Panagiotopoulos)," Hulusi Akar told reporters late on Oct. 22.

"We expect to see the positive results of this meeting in the coming days."

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met on Oct. 21 with his U.S., British, Greek and Spanish counterparts in Brussels. Akar and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace discussed bilateral and regional defense and security as well as defense industry cooperation.

Turkey will do whatever is needed to protect its rights, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Oct. 14 over recent attacks of the YPG group against Turkish forces in northern Syria.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has warned Greece over an arms race against Turkey after a military agreement between Paris and Athens.

Greece should not be provoked by others against Turkey, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Oct. 5. 

Underlining that Turkey has always believed in a peaceful solution in compliance with international law and good neighbor relations, he noted that Ankara favors dialogue with Athens.

The defense chiefs of Turkey and the U.S. spoke over the phone on Oct. 1, discussing future security cooperation between the two countries.

Turkey's Hulusi Akar and the U.S.' Lloyd James Austin exchanged views on bilateral and regional defense, according to Turkey's Ministry of National Defense.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold face-to-face talks in Sochi on Sept. 29 to discuss the recent escalation in Syria's Idlib province as the Russian and Syrian forces intensified military operations against the opposition groups.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet in Sochi on Sept. 29 to discuss the recent regional developments and bilateral relations.

Turkey has "neutralized" 18,502 members of the PKK terrorist organization since July 24, 2015, and 1,976 have been "neutralized" since the beginning of this year, the country's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Sept. 17. 

Any threats against Azerbaijan will be looked upon as threats against Turkey, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.