ST. PETERSBURG - Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said on Thursday that it was not possible to provide authority in Iraq only by pressure and imposition.
Arinc took over on Thursday term presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) from Sergey Mironov in the 23rd Plenary Session of the PABSEC General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia. Arinc and Mironov held a joint press conference.
Replying to a question on Turkey's policy on Iraq, Arinc said that Iraq issue was a source of threat and uneasiness not only for the region but also for the world. ''There is lack of tranquility and security in Iraq currently. There is a vacuum of authority. Democratization could not be concluded and people could not establish their own administration there,'' he noted.
Arinc noted that Turkey wanted problem in Iraq to be solved through peaceful ways.
Stating that Iraq has been going through painful days for about 15 months, Arinc said, ''not only Turkey, but also whole humanity feels sad about this issue. Turkey is a neighbor of Iraq. There have been friendly ties between the two countries. We want Iraq's territorial integrity to be protected. A divided Iraq will not bring any benefit to itself, the region, the world and peace. Iraq was rescued from Saddam regime, but it could not establish a democratic regime yet. Iraqi people should determine their own political fate. We think that all communities living in Iraq should be represented equally in this democratic regime.''
Arinc stressed that affluence of Iraq should belong to Iraqi people and noted that Turkey always put forth clearly those views in its foreign policy. Arinc stated that Turkey has mobilized its all capabilities and airports for Iraq to reach democratization and for reconstruction of the country since October.
Recalling that foreign ministers of countries neighboring Iraq convened five times and parliament speakers of those countries also had a meeting recently to assess the issue, he said that Turkey was ready to fulfill its duty on this issue. Arinc added that Turkish government and parliament were working on this issue on every platform for Iraq to reach tranquility as soon as possible.
(EÖ-AÖ) 03.06.2004