ANKARA - The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) denied news reports claiming that the United States asked for new bases in Turkey.
Namik Tan, spokesman for the MFA, said on Monday, ''on April 17th, 2006, the Cumhuriyet and the Aksam dailies claimed that the United States would establish new military bases in Turkey. Those reports are totally baseless.''
In the meantime Salih Yildiz, mayor of Yuksekova town of the eastern city of Hakkari, said that there were no signs about establishment of a military base in their home town by the United States. He also denied several news reports that a U.S. delegation visited the town for investigation.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson also denied the allegations. ''The United States did not ask for new bases from Turkey and those news reports were not true,'' he said.