ANKARA - U.S. Senate International Affairs Committee Chairman Richard Lugar gave the message that there was no pressure from Washington on Ankara regarding Turkey's sending soldiers to Iraq, sources said.
Sources stated on Wednesday that Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and Lugar took up cooperation of Turkey and the United States on Iraq, re-structuring process of Iraq, fight against terrorism, Cyprus, Turkey's EU membership process and the United States' support to that process and Afghanistan and the Middle East issues in the meeting.
Lugar gave the message that a pressure from Washington on Turkey's sending soldiers to Iraq was out of question and said that Ankara would take a decision on the issue. Lugar stated that they were expecting a decision which would be formed by internal dynamics of Turkey.
Stressing that Turkey knew the region well, Lugar said that Turkey's experiences about the region were of great importance for stability in the region.
Turkish side told Lugar in the meeting that the issue was evaluated in details and said that necessary studies were carried out, but a date was not determined yet.
Lugar reiterated the United States' support to Turkey's EU membership process and said that Turkey's membership would bring affluence to the Union.
Stating that they were in favor of finding a solution to Cyprus issue as soon as possible, Lugar said that they also expected Turkey to participate effectively in peace process in the Middle East.
(EÖ-AÖ) 20.08.2003