ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Monday that the United States had not yet made any official demand from Turkey to send soldiers to Iraq but that the intention of the United States was voiced in unofficial consultations.
Gul, who would start his visit to the United States on Tuesday, responded to questions of A.A correspondent.
Foreign Minister Gul stated that demand of the United States who wanted Turkey to send soldiers to Iraq could come onto agenda during his contacts in Washington.
''The issue will become more concrete then and we will bring the issue to our government,'' Gul said.
Replying to a question about U.S. demand from Turkey to send soldiers to Iraq, Gul said, ''the issue continues to be taken up in unofficial consultations right now. An official demand is not in question. Views are exchanged on the issue. This issue has not yet been taken up in the level of government. This issue will be debated among the United States, NATO and of course United Nations (U.N). If there are more concrete proposals, they will be evaluated. There is such an intention, but this intention will become official in coming days. Of course, these issues will be taken up by the government during these days. Of course, the view of the Turkish Armed Forces is very important.''
Gul added, ''if this is turned into a concrete proposal, we will consider its conditions. We will consider what our Constitution writes. If U.N. and NATO are in question, of course everything will be easier. But, if they are not in question, we have to apply to the parliament as a requirement of the Constitution.''
U.S. AMBASSADOR IN ANKARA PEARSON SAYS THEY DISCUSS UNOFFICIALLY THE PARTICIPATION OF TURKISH SOLDIER IN IRAQ STABILITY FORCE
U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Robert Pearson said on Monday that Turkey's participation in Stability Force in Iraq was discussed unofficially during the meetings of high-ranking American military officials and he added that the issue would be clear during Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul's visit to Washington.
Pearson received members of the Diplomacy Correspondents' Association (DMD) at Embassy Residence and replied their questions.
Upon questions regarding the statements of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the United States requested soldiers from Turkey, Pearson recalled that the issue took place among the proposals of Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal during his visit to Washington and said that the United States was evaluating the issue.
Noting that the issue was brought onto agenda and unofficially discussed during the contacts of U.S. Central Command Chief General John Abizaid and Supreme Allied Commander General James Jones in Ankara on Friday, Pearson said that they were expecting the process, which was on preparation step, to become clear during contacts of Gul in Washington.
Pearson said that Washington would take into consideration Turkish Armed Forces' undertaking many international peace force missions successfully within the scope of NATO and the United Nations and he added that Turkish forces were the most qualified forces in the mission of protecting the peace.
When asked about the statements regarding uneasiness of some groups with the existence of Turkish soldiers in the north of Iraq, Pearson emphasized that it would be for the interest of everybody to provide stability as soon as possible.
Upon a question, Pearson said that the news claiming that the United States was talking with terrorist organization PKK-KADEK were not reflecting the truth. He added that any negotiation between the United States' and PKK terrorist organization was out of question and stated that if such talks took place with terrorist organization, Turkish government would also have information about it.
Pearson said that some circles who wanted to harm Turkish-U.S. relations and create instability in the region created those kinds of allegations and news stories.
Noting that they aimed to prevent terror organizations from sheltering in north of Iraq, Pearson said that the United States was working to make passive PKK-KADEK and Turkey was working on the issue through Reassociation Law.
Pearson said that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's visit to Washington had a perfect timing when bilateral relations were passing through a similar critical period referring to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Ankara after motion crisis happened.
Noting that he believed that very beneficial meetings would be held to put relations on the right track again, Pearson said that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal's proposals for re-structuring of Iraq would be assessed seriously by Washington.
Pearson said that bilateral issues, Turkey's EU process, reform packages, economic reforms, Cyprus and the Middle East peace process would be discussed during Gul's visit to Washington.
When reminded the statement of Gul who said that relations between the two countries would go beyond strategic partnership, Pearson said that there were new possibilities to work together and added that there were also possibilities in places where there were risks.
Underlining that Turkey and the United States had considerable interests to make long term cooperation in the region, he said that there were not any strategic and even local reasons for disagreement on security or re-structuring of Iraq between the two countries.
(GC-EÖ-AÖ) 21.07.2003