MILLIYET- Columnist Sedat Ergin writes about last Tuesday's meeting between the prime minister and the visiting US defense undersecretary and what Turkey wants in exchange for support of a likely US intervention in Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
At his meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Ecevit, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told the prime minister that President Bush had decided to move against Saddam Hussein, but that he hadn't yet made his mind up as to when and how such an operation would take place. He then asked Ecevit what Turkey's views were. 'Obviously we would prefer a non-military solution,' replied Ecevit. After pointing out the possible negative repercussions of such an operation he continued: 'However, if the US does intervene in Iraq, then we would like to be informed beforehand. Turkey will consider this issue as being a matter of the Turkish-American strategic partnership.' One very important result of this meeting was the agreement of both sides to set up a regular, effective and secret consultation mechanism. This mechanism's aims would be to enhance cooperation during the planning stage of the operation in Iraq. One thing is clear: If the US acts with Turkey on this issue, then the costs of the operation will be considerably lower than an operation without Turkey's active support. And it is the attempt to reduce the cost of the operation that prompted Mr. Wolfowitz to say: 'Tell us exactly what you want.' In response, the Turkish side presented a firm list of requests. First of all Turkey would like the US to cancel $4 billion of Turkish debt from arms purchases. In addition, Turkey asked for help to alleviate the negative economic effects of a war in the region. To this end, Economy Minister Kemal Dervis suggested that the US Treasury also be included in the decision-making process along with the US Defense Department. Turkey also wants the US to support Turkey's membership in the European Union. However, the most important and underscored point on Turkey's list of demands was protection of the territorial integrity of Iraq. Turkey wants to be reassured that a Kurdish state, or a federal Iraq, will not be established in the region after the operation. On this issue, Turkey made it clear that it would in no way allow the Kurds to gain control of the oil-rich area surrounding Musul and Kerkuk. Mr. Wolfowitz answered 'yes' to the majority of these demands made by the Turkish officials and said that he knew he had homework to do when he went back home. We can safely say that in the coming days we are going to witness the hardest bargaining in the history of Turkish-US relations. Turkey does not intend to make the mistake it made before the Gulf War by not getting anything in return for its support.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION