ANKARA - U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson said on Friday that all the cities of Iraq belonged to Iraqi people.
Responding to questions of journalists after meeting separately with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan, Pearson said that they also took up the statements of retired American General Jay Garner about Kirkuk during the meetings.
Pearson said that the U.S. stated in the last one year in many occasions that all the cities of Iraq belonged to the Iraqi people, adding that he didn't know if Garner issued any statement saying that Kirkuk was a Kurdish city. Pearson said that the attitude of the U.S. about this issue was clear, adding that ''our attitude will continue to be clear.''
Pearson said he also conveyed their gratitude due to Turkey-U.S. cooperation following the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to Turkey, adding that the U.S. planes had 4,000 flights via Turkey during the war within the scope of that cooperation.
Pearson said that the U.S. was also pleased with the fact that Turkey provided fuel oil, water, and food to the north of Iraq, adding that they planned to double 100,000 tons of basic materials which they sent to the region via Turkey within the coming six months.
Noting that they also took up humanitarian aid and the security of the north of Iraq in the meeting, Pearson said that many U.S. soldiers came to the north of Iraq from the south to install the stability in the region.
Turkey and the U.S. regard the developments in the north of Iraq from the same point of view, said Pearson and he didn't make any comment about the news claiming that the Turkish liaison officers were deported from the region.
Pearson said regarding a question about the participation of Turkey in the international stability force planned to be formed in the region after the war, that they expected Turkey to respond to the questions they asked. Pearson added that the negotiations continued.
(ÖS-AÖ) 25.04.2003