EX-Turkish diplomat says US has nukes in Istanbul

A senior Turkish diplomat says the United States has stored tactical nuclear weapons in Istanbul.

Former Turkish defense ministry adviser and retired ambassador to Washington, Taner Baytok asserted that nearly 100 tactical nuclear weapons were stored, "not at the US Incirlik Base in Adana", but in Istanbul, the most populated city of the country, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

He said some of these weapons are in other cities near the Black Sea.

"Twelve million people are living on nuclear warheads in Istanbul... Those weapons must be taken out of Turkey," he added.

According to Baytok, tactical weapons, which are fired with a double-key system, were placed during the Cold War.

The weapons would be fired to the satellites of the former Soviet Union as they are attached to faster missiles with shorter ranges, said Baytok.

"One of the keys is in the US and the other in the host country, in this case Turkey," the former ambassador added.

Based on a former report published by The Times nearly 50% of US nuclear weapons in NATO member countries can be located in Turkey.

Based on the report, US President Barack Obama will remove all nuclear arsenals out of the NATO member states, including Turkey.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122623§ionid=351020204.