BY OYA BERBEROGLU
AKSAM- During their summit next month in Istanbul, will NATO members consider sending troops to Iraq? Remember that Turkey favors sending its own troops under the NATO banner. This issue will be discussed at the summit. Some are even saying the US will push for this at the meeting. There are also claims that a secret deal was struck during State Minister Ali Babacan’s recent visit to the US. Some officials in Bulgaria confirmed signs pointing to troops being sent to Iraq. US officials are saying that discussions in NATO over Iraq haven’t begun, but this isn’t the whole truth. We’ll see whether NATO will decide to send troops to Iraq this June or at the end of the year. The US is planning to grant self-governance to the Iraqi people on June 30. Of course we shouldn’t forget the fact that for a NATO intervention, a sovereign recognized by the UN should come to power.
I recently got some information after the Cyprus referendum. We’ve already read press leaks about a US request for a base on Cyprus in return for recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and an end to the embargo. There’s also a deal over Cyprus to send Turkish troops to Iraq.
If we see the situation from the European Union’s perspective, it wouldn’t have given Turkey a date for accession talks even if a reunited Cyprus joined the EU. I recently wrote that the EU is considering Turkey a favorable neighbor; now this idea is being voiced by the Union itself.
The second half of this year is very critical for Turkey as well as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The issue of starting accession talks will determine the future of the AKP. If the EU doesn’t give us a date, something the AKP has had high hopes on, then things will get more complicated.