On the 59th anniversary of ceding Alexandretta
The Turkish Anatolia news agency said that Turkish Prime Minister Mesout Yilmaz strongly warned Syria of having ambitions in Alexandretta Sanjak (District). This came on the 59th anniversary of ceding this Syrian district to Turkey after a disputed referendum held in 1939.
Syria, together with other Arab states and Iran, has opposed the military cooperation between Turkey and Israel since the two sides signed a military cooperation agreement in 1996. It views the said agreement as a threat to its security.
Efforts made by both Ankara and Damascus at the beginning of July failed to improve bilateral relations during a visit by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Adnan Omran to Ankara.
