Ildem: An Operation Which Is Not Based On International Legitimacy Can't Be Accepted

ANKARA - Presidential Foreign Affairs Chief Adviser Tacan Ildem said regarding the Iraqi issue that ''an operation which is not based on international legitimacy can't be accepted.''
Speaking to reporters after the meeting at Presidential Palace in which recent developments about Iraq were evaluated, Ildem said that ''the studies at the U.S. congress about the situation in Iraq, efforts launched to adopt a resolution based on international legitimacy, the recent visits from U.S. and Iraq to Turkey and the contacts carried out were reviewed in the meeting. It is natural for Turkey to closely monitor the developments about its neighbour Iraq. The basic principles which Turkey has defended to date about the Iraqi issue are still valid. On the other hand we believe that an opportunity has to be given to peaceful solution efforts. We hope Iraq to show its cooperation with the international society by taking concrete steps and we hope no reason for starting a military operation to come out. An operation which is not based on international legitimacy can't be accepted. In this context, Turkey supports the U.S. attitude which takes international legitimacy as the basis and which aims to act with the U.N. Security Council as put forward by the speech of U.S. President George W. Bush.''
Ildem said that Turkey also expects Iraq to act in a responsible way that won't negatively affect the regional stability, adding that ''our assessments about all kinds of negative possibilities will continue also in the coming period.''
ILDEM: THERE IS NO NEED TO CONVENE PARLIAMENT DUE TO DEVELOPMENTS ABOUT IRAQ
When asked if the local Northern Iraq's parliament's starting to work the same day came to the agenda of the meeting, Ildem said that all developments about Iraq were evaluated.
''What is the result of the meeting?'' asked journalists to Ildem who said that ''I am not in a position to share these evaluations with you here.''
When a journalist asked ''isn't the re-starting of the local parliament's working the first step of the process that will lead to the foundation of a Kurdish state?'' Ildem said that ''I earlier told in the news conference that the basic principles which Turkey has defended to date about the Iraqi issue are still valid and they didn't change.''
Upon a question asking if President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit would have any contact with the leaders of other countries about this issue, Ildem said that ''there is no such information now.''
Ildem said that the meeting at the Presidential Palace was planned a long time ago. When told that the meeting caused excitement in the public opinion, Ildem said that ''there is no development that should make the public opinion excited. I can underline this fact for a few times. The meeting was not held due to an extraordinary situation.''
When asked if the news published in the press claiming of ''instruction of mobilization'' was true, Ildem said that such kind of speculative news was not correct.
''It is natural for Turkey to assess all sorts of possibilities, because Iraq is Turkey's neighbour, it shares the same geography. All sorts of possibilities have been taken into consideration in this meeting and such kind of meetings can continue,'' Ildem said.
When asked if another summit could come to agenda soon, Ildem said that ''it can take place if there is such a need, but no date has been fixed.''