BRESCIA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Saturday that Turkish and U.S. military delegations had reached compromise on giving a separate region in Iraq under Turkey's command.
Gul arrived in Brescia, Italy to attend the second day meetings of the unofficial meeting of the European Union (EU) foreign ministers.
Speaking to reporters on the plane, Gul said that talks between Turkish and U.S. military delegations were held in a ''very frank and positive'' atmosphere and said, ''there is a compromise on a separate region and command.''
Gul noted that the United States presented different proposals on region in a large geography and said, ''our preference will be important if a decision is made. We have the right to prefer.''
Who would meet the costs of Turkish soldiers and how many soldiers would be sent were issues to be clarified later in case a decision was taken, Gul stated.
Gul pointed out that U.S. military delegations would come to Ankara again in coming days to discuss the issue.
Upon a question, Gul said that news that talks were cut due to the U.S. approach towards the terrorist organization PKK/KADEK was inaccurate and another U.S. delegation would come to Turkey to take up that issue.
Gul said that ''he expected'' that the United States ''would not tolerate'' the groups in its own list of terrorist networks and expressed belief that the United States would behave sincerely in this issue.
Asked if the decision to send soldiers to Iraq would be delayed to October, Gul said that it would be easy to take a political decision after military talks were completed.
Gul stated that in case the political will decided to bring the issue to the parliament, the parliament would take up the issue.
Noting that the ongoing process was different from the former motion process, Gul recalled that war and deployment of foreign soldiers in Turkey were in question in the previous process.
(BRC) 06.09.2003