ERDOGAN EXPECTED TO PRESENT ECONOMIC PACKAGE TO DENKTAS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to pay a visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) tomorrow, during which he is expected to present a proposal package to TRNC President Rauf Denktas. The package reportedly includes a number economic measures aimed at helping the country to improve its economy. The prime minister is also to call on Denktas and other TRNC political leaders to meet to discuss the package and other issues of the island. /Cumhuriyet/
POWELL: “DESPITE OUR DISAPPOINTMENT, TURKEY REMAINS A GOOD FRIEND AND ALLY”
US Secretary of State Colin Powell stated yesterday that despite US disappointment at Ankara’s declining earlier this year to take a major role in the Iraq war, Turkey remains a good friend and ally to the United States. “They are working with us now in a very cooperative way,” said Powell. “Notwithstanding that disappointment of a couple of months ago, Turkey remains a strong friend and ally and we have a good partnership with Turkey. I'm sure it will continue to grow in the years ahead.” Powell’s statement was seen by diplomatic circles as an effort to ease bilateral tensions which flared this week with US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz’s criticisms of Turkey’s stance on the Iraq war. /Hurriyet/
GROSSMAN: “IN THE INTEREST OF BOTH COUNTRIES, TURKISH-US TIES SHOULD BE REPAIRED”
Speaking to CNN Turk yesterday, a top US State Department official said that Turkey should take heed of recent remarks by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, but also underscored the mutual benefits of continued strong Turkish-US ties. Marc Grossman, US undersecretary of state and a former ambassador to Ankara, said the US had made its own mistake in overstating the military importance of Turkey in the months leading up to the Iraq war. Nevertheless, he added, Wolfowitz’s remarks critical of Turkey were important and worthy of consideration. “It was a great misfortune for Parliament to reject the US deployment,” said Grossman. “However, Turkey is still a very important country for us. What we want to do is to mend our ties with Ankara.” Grossman stated that it would be difficult for the US to act as if nothing had happened, but that the important point was for good Turkish-US relations to continue for the interest of both sides. “We didn’t face a wave of terrorism in northern Iraq, but the terrorist group PKK/KADEK is still in the region, and the US will do what is needed to deal with this,” said Grossman. “The importance and future of Incirlik Airbase is up to Turkey.” Grossman added that US support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid would continue. /Aksam/
PEARSON: “COOPERATING WITH IRAQI KURDS WILL GIVE TURKEY AN EDGE IN RECONSTRUCTION BIDS”
If Turkey wants to claim its fair share of the Iraq reconstruction pie, cooperating with Iraq’s Kurds would improve its chances, US Ambassador to Ankara Robert Pearson told a group of Turkish businessmen on Tuesday. “If Turkey establishes close contacts with Kurdish business circles in northern Iraq, your businessmen will have greater opportunity to win tenders for the country’s reconstruction,” Pearson told the businessmen, who are seeking contacts in postwar Iraq. “Turkish companies should get in touch with American firms as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, Turkey’s International Transporters’ Association (UND) is preparing to open a bureau in Baghdad. UND Chairman Cetin Nuhoglu predicted that Turkish companies could get an approximately $6 billion share of Iraq’s reconstruction. /Cumhuriyet/
POLAND OPPOSES TURKEY’S PARTICIPATION IN PROPOSED IRAQ STABILIZATION FORCE
Poland announced yesterday that it opposed Turkey’s participation in a proposed multinational stabilization force to be deployed in Iraq. The United States has designated three zones for the stabilization force – in the country’s north, center, and south – one under its own command and the two others to be led by British and Polish officers. Polish officials claimed that Turkey’s participation would somehow violate United Nations resolutions since the two countries are neighbors. /Cumhuriyet/
WOLFOWITZ’S COMMENTS DRAW HARSH REACTION FROM TURKISH LEADERS
A host of Turkish leaders yesterday firmly rebuffed US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz’s recent statements that Turkey had made a mistake in the Iraq war by not backing the United States. “Turkey, from the very beginning, never made any mistakes, and has taken all the necessary steps in all sincerity,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters. “While taking these steps, Turkey did not expect any advantage at the end.” Government spokesman and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek rejoined that in fact it was the US which should admit its mistakes, saying that Wolfowitz’s previous admission that Washington had failed to keep its promises to Turkey in return for its cooperation in 1991’s Gulf War had sparked Ankara’s hesitation earlier this year. Joining the chorus, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal described Wolfowitz’s remarks as a reflection of the US official’s own personal feelings of “disappointment.” Baykal added, “Turkey is a democratic country and everybody who appreciates the functioning of a true democracy should respect this.” Baykal’s CHP voted as a bloc against the government proposal to authorize US troop deployment in Turkey, the rejection of which was Wolfowitz’s major complaint. Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit commented on the statements by saying that military intervention in the affairs of Parliament was not welcomed in democratic countries. “The Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] always fulfills its duties in line with democracy and under certain rules,” he stated. Concerning the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, he said that there were some 5,000 PKK terrorists in the region and that as soon as security was ensured there, the troops would no longer be required. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul presented an apparent exception to the general Turkish ire, as on Tuesday he described Wolfowitz’s remarks as “sincere, pragmatic statements with prospects for the future.” He commented that Wolfowitz’s remarks carried positive messages looking towards the further development of Turkish-US ties on which much could be done. Regarding the top defense official’s statements on US forces leaving Adana’s Incirlik Airbase, which played host to Operation Northern Watch for several years till its recent completion, Gul added that it was the US administration which would decide on the matter. /All Papers/
ROMANIAN PM VISITS TURKEY
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received his Romanian counterpart Adrian Nastase. The two leaders discussed bilateral economic and trade relations and agreed to work to further develop them. Nastase pledged to ease visa procedures for Turkish citizens and proposed cooperation between Turkish and Romanian firms during Iraq’s reconstruction process. /Cumhuriyet/
VERHEUGEN: “I THINK BETTER OF TURKEY NOW, BUT UNTIL IT FULFILLS THE EU CRITERIA, ITS SITUATION IS UNCLEAR”
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen presented a mixed picture of Turkey’s EU prospects yesterday, praising the country and its government, but adding that until Ankara meets all the Union criteria its membership bid remains in doubt. “To join the EU, Turkey must fulfill our criteria,” Verheugen told a conference on EU enlargement in Berlin. “Ankara has time to do this before 2004 [when the EU is due to review its accession progress] and if it succeeds, then the Union will take it in.” He said that a recent visit to Turkey had changed his opinion of the country for the better, stressing its possible contributions to the EU’s cultural tapestry. “Islam, Christianity and Judaism are all part of the Union,” stated Verheugen. “And in light of current events, the membership of Muslim, secular Turkey is vital.” Asked whether the avowedly “Muslim democratic” Justice and Development party (AKP) government threatened Turkey’s official secular character, Verheugen said, “No, never. The AKP government is founded on the basis of modernization and other democratic values.”
IMF’S KRUEGER URGES LOWERED INTEREST RATES TO EASE TURKEY’S DEBT BURDEN
International Monetary Fund First Managing Director Anne Krueger yesterday met with Turkish Treasury Undersecretary Ibrahim Canakci, Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener to discuss recent economic developments. Speaking at a press conference after meeting later with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Krueger said that the persistence of Turkey’s high debt posed a critical problem to the economy. “Turkey needs to bring down its high interest rates, as doing so would ease its debt rollovers,” said Krueger. “The government should continue to fully implement the economic program, and there are some vital steps it needs to take within a few weeks. If it takes them, then the nation would be able to recapture some of its previous growth potential.” /Milliyet/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION