Gul: United States Proposed Euphrates Axis For Turkish Soldiers

ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minster Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that talks on dispatch of Turkish soldiers to Iraq with the United States continued and stated that the United States proposed Firat (Euphrates) axis for Turkish soldiers.
Speaking to reporters at the Prime Ministry, Gul said that Turkey was not in a hurry and passionate on sending soldiers to Iraq.
Gul said that the United States had some hesitations and deficiency on dispatch of Turkish soldiers to the region and stated that Turkey's interlocutor was not Iraqi Interim Governing Council, but the United States which demanded soldiers from Turkey.
Gul added that Paul Bremer, U.S. administrator in Iraq, made a statement describing the Ottoman Empire as an occupier force as he did not know history and the region.
(EÖ-AÖ) 28.10.2003