U.S. Embassy Denies Press Reports That U.S. Seeks To Establish New Bases In Turkey

ANKARA - U.S. Embassy said on Friday that, ''there have been numerous press reports in recent days claiming that the United States has proposed a significant expansion of its military presence and activities in Turkey.''
The statement said, ''many of these reports, particularly claiming that the U.S. seeks to establish new bases in Turkey or to deploy ground forces to Turkey, are groundless.''
The statement said, ''U.S. military cooperation with Turkey is carried out within the framework of bilateral and multilateral agreements.''
As Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday, ''There is no question of a new US demand for bases and airports, such as Samsun and Trabzon on the Black Sea. All of this is not true. We have a defense cooperation agreement with the United States dating back to 1980. Sometimes, the United States submits certain proposals within the scope of this agreement, and these are assessed. If the proposals fall within this scope, we will comply with them. Other than that, there is no question of a new base, airport, or port, as reflected in the newspapers.''
(AY) 28.05.2004