Gul: Turkey Overcame Iraqi War With Minimum Damage

ANTALYA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday night that Turkey overcame Iraqi war with minimum damage without taking part in the war.
Speaking to reporters at Antalya Airport, Gul said that Turkey started to recover after the Iraqi war.
''Markets and the economic life started to revive. We believe that everything will be better in the spring. Thousands of lorries carrying food stuff enter Iraq via Turkey. Nearly 400 lorries entered Iraq to date. Iraq buy food stuff from Turkey. This number of lorries will increase in the coming few weeks and 400 lorries will enter Iraq in one day. I am sure this will also revive the Mediterranean region. We are hopeful in this respect,'' he said.
When a reporter asked his views about the incidents that took place in eastern Bingol province, Gul said that ''the things that happened in Bingol are very sad...Unfortunately there are certain provocateurs... Certainly security forces had to act more calmly, yet these incidents should not cast shadow over our national grief.''
(ÖS) 03.05.2003