Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Ankara on Wednesday, holding a joint news conference after their private talks focused on Türkiye's planned contribution to the expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Erdogan confirmed that parliament had authorized the government to dispatch troops to join UNIFIL, adding that the Turkish Armed Forces and Ministry of Foreign Affairs would begin consultations immediately. A Turkish delegation was also set to travel to New York for talks with UN officials, after which specific troop numbers, positioning, and mandate details would be determined.
Addressing public skepticism at home, Erdogan attributed some of the concern to delays in UN Security Council approval of Resolution 1701 and acknowledged that the government may not have communicated its reasoning clearly enough. He expressed confidence that public opinion would shift once citizens reflected on the parliament's decision.
Responding to a Lebanese journalist's question about whether the troop contribution was tied to Türkiye's EU membership bid, Erdogan flatly rejected the suggestion. He cited humanitarian and historical ties to the region as the driving factors, saying Türkiye's goal was to help preserve peace, not broker it, and that the country wanted no further bloodshed in the region.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.