Gul: There Has Been A Dangerous Escalation In Iraq

ANKARA - ''There has been a dangerous escalation in Iraq. We are extremely concerned about recent developments,'' Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul told reporters on Thursday.
When asked about news stories claiming that the United States had requested Turkey to send soldiers to Iraq, Gul said, ''dispatch of Turkish soldiers to Iraq is out of question.''
''Earlier, we proposed to send soldiers to Iraq. However, our proposal was rejected. In those days, the parliament had given the necessary authority to this end. But we gave up the idea of sending Turkish soldiers to Iraq mutually. Now, dispatch of Turkish soldiers to Iraq is out of question.''
Upon a question about clashes between the U.S. forces and Shiite groups in Iraq, Gul expressed their deep concerns about developments.
''We have been telling from the very beginning that tension could escalate because of lack of information about culture and structure of the region. We hope that our recommendations would be taken into consideration. There has been a dangerous escalation in the country.''
Stressing that a new era had begun in Iraq following the war, Gul added that developments in Iraq could have negative impacts both on Turkey and the world.
(UK-AÖ) 08.04.2004