Turkmenistan to establish navy before 2015

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has approved a plan to establish the country's navy before 2015, Interfax reported on Saturday.
   The president told an enlarged meeting of the National Security Committee on Friday that the approval signaled the start of the endeavor to establish the Turkmen Navy within the framework of the Turkmen Ministry of Defense, Xinhua reported.
   The Navy's mission is to safeguard the nation's maritime interests in the Caspian Sea, he stressed.
   The president also said that the military theory formulated by his government in 2009 on the basis of sticking to the neutral status and pursuing a peaceful diplomatic policy constitutes the ideological axes of the country's political and military strategies.
   He added that the armed force should serve as a strong fortress that defends the nation's peaceful policy as well as political and military strategies.
   On Dec. 12, 1995, representatives from 185 countries passed a special resolution at the UN General Assembly on granting Turkmenistan a permanent neutral status.
   According to the provisions for a neutral, Turkmenistan should maintain stability and defend human rights at home, establish diplomatic relations with other countries on an equal footing, not take part in any kinds of political, economic and military organizations or alliances, and refuse to own or use weapons of mass destruction.