ISTANBUL - NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Hikmet Cetin said on Tuesday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed Turkey's view to NATO regarding the Third Army Corps which is planned to be sent to Afghanistan as a contribution to NATO troops.
Cetin visited A.A office in Istanbul during NATO Summit and answered questions.
Upon a question regarding Turkish Third Army Corps' which supposedly will undertake the command of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Cetin said that PM Erdogan explained Turkey's view about the issue to NATO officials.
When asked whether Turkey could undertake this mission or not, Cetin recalled that the command would be undertaken by different NATO members every six months. He added that Turkey is a country which has high military capabilities within NATO.
Cetin said that the command could be undertaken by Turkey and Italy next year and negotiations were actually holding on the issue.
Noting that NATO does not need to take a new decision to send troops in areas beyond Kabul, Cetin said that in accordance with the previous resolution of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), NATO forces could undertake mission in every part of Afghanistan, however this would be a gradual process.
Cetin recalled that Afghan administration attributed great importance to deployment of NATO additional forces on its territory prior to elections that are planned to be held in September. He said that first positive signals were received from Italy and Belgium, adding that those countries announced that they would send troops to Afghanistan before the elections.
(GC-ULG) 29.06.2004