Turkey, NATO discuss border with Syria

ANKARA, Turkey

The defence ministry said on Tuesday (June 30th) it has started talks with the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency on a project to clear land mines from the country’s border with Syria. The announcement came amid heated public debate on who should complete the task. The army and opposition parties strongly oppose a draft law envisioning private foreign companies clearing the mines in return for the right to farm the land for up to 44 years. Currently, there are about 600,000 landmines along the Turkish-Syrian border, most dating from the 1950s.