Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Monday that Turkey will provide additional officers and aircraft to U.N. peacekeeping operations. "Taking into consideration the complex nature of today's conflicts, it seems that peacekeeping operations will remain one of the most important tools of the U.N. in the near future," Davutoğlu said at a peacekeeping summit on the sidelines of the 70th U.N. General Assembly that was hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama. Davutoğlu said Turkey committed to deploy five staff officers to U.N. headquarters for the peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and one transport aircraft to the U.N. force in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). He added that the Turkish Armed Forces would stand ready to contribute to the training of troops participating in U.N. peacekeeping operations, and the Navy would provide training in the field of maritime security for naval personnel taking part in U.N. operations. Turkey has had a presence in U.N. peacekeeping operations including those in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Somalia, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition to Davutoğlu's statements regarding peacekeeping operations, 50 countries pledged to contribute more than 40,000 new troops and police to serve in some of the world's most volatile areas. Countries also pledged more than 40 helicopters, 15 engineering companies and 10 field hospitals, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power announced at the end of the U.N. meeting on Monday.
