ANKARA - Justice Minister and Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek said on Monday that the loan worth of 8,5 billion U.S. dollars was a loan which was given by U.S. Congress itself unilaterally and added that Turkey did not have any demand on that point.
Cicek replied questions of reporters after the meeting of Council of Ministers.
When a reporter asked whether State Minister Ali Babacan gave information regarding U.S. loan which would be given to Turkey for meeting its losses due to situation in Iraq, Cicek said that they were not directly involved in the issue.
Noting that ''the issue was not brought onto agenda with the demand of Turkey'', Cicek said that ''it was a loan which was given by U.S. Congress itself unilaterally and U.S. Congress laid down the conditions itself. Turkey did not have any demand here.''
Emphasizing that the loan was not related with the issue of sending soldiers to Iraq, Cicek said, ''if we decide to send soldiers to Iraq, we will take a decision directly by considering interests of the country.''
Noting that they were about to end the evaluation process on the issue, Cicek said that the issue would majorly be clear next week when they received information from Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on his meetings in New York.
Replying another question regarding the loan, Cicek said that using the loan or not was up to Turkey and added that the issue had not been discussed yet at the government.
When asked whether the loan would cause a problem in fight against terrorist organization PKK/KADEK, Cicek said that they did not take into account the loan while making their plans.
Upon a question whether approval of Parliament was necessary for using the loan, Cicek said, ''no, loan agreements are not related with Parliament's will.''
U.S. OFFICIAL: ''THERE IS NO RELATION BETWEEN U.S. LOAN AND TURKEY'S SENDING SOLDIERS TO IRAQ''
The official said that news stories that appeared in Turkish press on the issue did not reflect the truth and added that the United States aimed to help Turkey with the agreement.
Noting that they wanted to help Turkey to fulfill its economic and political targets, the official said that Turkish people's reaching prosperity and Turkey's contributions to the stability of the region would also be for the interest of the United States, adding that it was strategically important for bilateral relations.
The official said that the agreement showed the desire of the United States for carrying on cooperation with Turkey and added that a U.S. pressure would be out of question on Turkey's foreign policy. Recalling that U.S. Senate had decided in April that Turkey would not enter north of Iraq unilaterally for taking U.S. loan, the official said that the agreement in Dubai was signed within the scope of this decision. He added that there was neither a new nor a secret condition in the agreement.
Noting that they would be pleased if Turkey decided to send soldiers to Iraq, the official said that however this was not one of the conditions for cooperation in Iraq issue.
Recalling that sending humanitarian aid to Iraq, helping reconstruction of the region and Turkey's carrying on fulfilling economic reforms were among the conditions, the official said that Turkey was already meeting those conditions.
The official said that Iraq was not a threat for its neighbors and did not support terrorism any more. He added that Turkey had some concerns before Iraq war and the United States had focused on those concerns, noting that in case Turkey had new concerns, two countries could also discuss them and could act jointly for the solution.
Noting that Washington was determined in the eradication of PKK/KADEK terrorist organization from the north of Iraq, the official said that Turkey had earlier entered the region for a few times, but the threat was still continuing and he added that they wanted to be in close cooperation with Turkey on the issue.
The official said that they were exerting efforts to eliminate terrorism threat and the process on this issue was continuing between Turkey and the United States. He added that different approaches could have contribution to solution and the best way to eliminate the threat would be found.
(GC-AÖ) 29.09.2003