U.S. Ambassador: No Condition For Participation In Stability Force In Iraq Is Required For Loan

ANKARA - U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Eric Edelman said on Tuesday that a new condition, except the two conditions that U.S. Congress had determined for U.S. loan worth of 8.5 billion dollars for Turkey, was out of question.
Edelman paid a courtesy visit to Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Ali Talip Ozdemir.
Replying questions after the meeting, Edelman said that U.S. Congress had determined two conditions regarding the loan worth of 8.5 billion dollars and the donation worth of one billion dollars and those were Turkey's fulfilling economy policies within the program of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and making cooperation with the United States in Iraq issue.
Edelman emphasized that those conditions were determined before the issue of Turkey's participation in stability force in Iraq was brought onto agenda and said that a condition which required Turkey's participation in stability force was not put forth for granting this loan.
Noting that they had presented a report to Washington two weeks ago that Turkey had met those two conditions, Edelman said there was no new condition.
Edelman said that his meeting with Ozdemir was very beneficial and they took up historical and current issues of relations of two countries.
(GC-AÖ) 23.09.2003