Supreme Military Council convenes amid tensions

As Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu recently announced the new Cabinet ministers for the 64th government, he will chair the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting tomorrow that will be held at the headquarters of the Army chief in Ankara.

While the usual YAŞ meeting convenes to discuss the military agenda, the recently increasing terror attacks domestically as well as internationally will be addressed at tomorrow's meeting. Along with terror activities, the recent developments after Turkey downed a Russian warplane that violated Turkey's airspace will also be comprehensively discussed. The YAŞ meeting will be attended by the chief of general staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, and will also include newly announced National Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz and the 15 highest-ranked members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

The military council traditionally meets twice a year to discuss issues related to personnel, training and future plans for the armed forces, however, with the increasing domestic and regional security crisis due to deadly attacks by terrorist organizations like the PKK and DAESH, the agenda of the YAŞ meeting will mainly focus on decisions and plans to combat terror.

The most recent developments on the Turkey-Syria border will also be addressed. With efforts to tone down tensions between Russia and Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is to meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in the coming days. Regardless of the results from the upcoming meeting, the military council on Thursday will discuss all possible military measures that might have to be taken.

Furthermore, the threat imposed by the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) – in reference to the Gülen Movement – as well as military personnel who are allegedly affiliated with the movement will also top the YAŞ meeting agenda.