Ukraine, Turkey sign military cooperation plan until 2020

The Armed Forces of Ukraine and Turkey have signed an implementation plan for military cooperation, according to the press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The plan foresees practical steps aimed at boosting defense capability of the Ukrainian army, it said.

"The said document was prepared to ensure the practical implementation of the agreements reached during a meeting of the head of the General Staff and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Turkish Republic in February 2016," the press service said.

The implementation plan suggests directions and spheres of military cooperation between the two countries' armies until 2020. In particular, it stipulates reform and defense planning, education and training of troops, advisory assistance, and cooperation between the branches of the armed forces.

"Namely, the implementation of practical measures of cooperation in the military sphere will let, on the one hand, strengthen ties with its southern neighbor and, on the other hand, focus efforts on achieving the ultimate goal – the Ukrainian army's preparedness for NATO membership in 2020," it said.

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