US planning to withdraw from Anatolian Eagle drills

The US Defense Ministry has made a statement that will not participate in the Anatolian Eagle drills in Turkey and conditioned its presence on Israeli attendance.

The statement was made after invitations were sent out to several countries but not Israel for the Anatolian Eagle drills, held since 2001 in central Turkey, unnamed sources told the Hurriyet newspaper.

Turkish officials haven’t yet commented the issue.

Last year, Turkey for the first time excluded Israel from the exercises amid tensions over the Jewish state's devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip, ARF reported. Turkey eventually cancelled the international section of the drills without explanation after the United States reportedly pulled out.

It’s worth mentioning that relations between Turkey and Israel have hit a new low after Israeli deadly attack on the international pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. Turkey strongly condemned the attack which left 9 Turkish activists dead, and demanded on compensations. It also recalled its Ambassador back from Israel.

The US Congress has sent an alert message to President Obama and expressed concerns that Washington can’t believe and trust Turkey amid Turkey’s rapprochement with Syria and Iran. Some senior US officials voiced concerns that the American weapons can be used against the closest allies of the United States.