TURKIYE- Columnist Fuat Bol writes on Prime Minister Ecevit's visit to the US and its possible consequences. A summary of his column is as follows:
Prior to Prime Minister Ecevit, Greek Prime Minister Simitis paid an official visit to Washington and returned to his country after holding talks there. Whatever has been discussed with Simitis, especially on Cyprus and the disputes between Turkey and Greece, will be understood following Ecevit's trip. The stance of the US will be understood only after his visit. It seems hard for Greece and Turkey to resolve their differences without the arbitration of the US. Although Turkey intervened in Cyprus based on its guarantorship rights recognized by international treaties, it has been unable to explain the legality of its action to the world in the years since 1974, when the intervention was made, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus established on the north of the island is not internationally recognized. From that day on, Northern Cypriots have suffered from a lack of identity. Their passports are not valid in any country besides Turkey, and they have been strangled by an incredibly harsh embargo imposed upon them. The prime minister who decided on a military intervention in Cyprus nearly two decades ago was Bulent Ecevit. Today, the same Ecevit is seeking a solution to the Cyprus problem again as the prime minister of his country. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Turkey's significance was understood more clearly. The US knows this full well. The important thing here is for Ecevit to stay firm and defend Turkey's interests. Unfortunately Turkey has been unable to score the same successes with the US as have Jordan and Egypt. They have both been able to get their debts to the US erased, and were furthermore granted new and generous sums in loans. What's more the US gave them trade privileges. In fact, Turkey is the one country which since 1991 has born the brunt of the Gulf War and suffered great losses amounting to billions of dollars. Now a similar Gulf scenario is being discussed. Therefore, the US stance regarding Cyprus and Iraq is of crucial importance to Turkey. When the world is being shaped anew, the US needs to cooperate with Turkey as much as Turkey needs the US.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION