NEW YORK - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that the government would not apply to Parliament on Iraq issue if they realize that they could not get authorization.
Gul participated in meeting of Turkish-American Business Forum.
Replying a question on dispatch of soldiers to Iraq, Gul said, ''Parliament will take the final decision. If we realize that we can not get authorization from the Parliament, we will not apply. Parliament authorizes, government implements.''
Gul said there had been vital issues like Cyprus, Iraq, and European Union (EU) process when they came to ruling, stating that, ''those problems are overcome with the efforts of the government. Everything progresses successfully.''
Gul said relations with the EU entered to the most critical point, stating that, ''our target is to initiate negotiation process in 2004. Negotiations may last long, but we believe that many things may change in case this process starts.''
Gul said Iraq was a mosaic country, noting that they warned the United States that it would be difficult to re-establish balance in case it disrupts. ''But this was not taken into consideration. They won the war easily but situation worsens now. People of Iraq want electricity and water. They ask where there U.S. technology was. In the end everybody in Iraq became an enemy of United States.''
Gul said, ''they think Americans wanted to prolong period of occupation. United States should see those. After the war, we proposed to fulfill humanitarian service, but they did not want to make us interfere because of offenses. Yet, I believe that they will want help from us again.''
Stating that Turkey was currently building two hospitals one in Baghdad and one in Kirkuk, Gul said 60 percent of U.N. aid was transported via Turkey, and that Turkey helped Iraq people with its own facilities.
(AY) 24.09.2003