ANKARA - U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said on Thursday that the existing stage in military planning was completed and that the next stage started.
Evaluating his contacts in Ankara in a news conference before leaving Turkey for the U.S., Wolfowitz said that he had constructive contacts in Ankara and they took up many issues including EU, Iraq, economy, and Turkey-U.S. relations.
Wolfowitz said that he had the opportunity to convey the official invitation of U.S. President George W. Bush to AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the dinner hosted in the U.S. Embassy last night.
Wolfowitz said that they particularly took up the Iraqi issue in his contacts in Ankara, adding that they decided to work together.
Wolfowitz said that the existing stage in military planning was completed and that the next stage started regarding the issue of a possible operation against Iraq. He said that issues of which bases to be used, on which bases soldiers will be deployed, and which bases will have the necessary standards are the issues of the next stage. Wolfowitz said that this issue is important for both governments, adding that it has to be clarified as soon as possible.
Noting that the U.S. favours a peaceful solution in Iraq, Wolfowitz said that this country should be cleared off from biological, nuclear and chemical weapons.
Wolfowitz said that ''it is time for Iraq to give up its weapons.'' Wolfowitz said that this is a decision to be given by Iraq, adding that weapon inspectors can't disarm Iraq. Iraq is the one who will do that, he said adding Saddam should see the fact that it is besieged by the international society.
Wolfowitz said that AK Party leader Erdogan explained the existing economic crisis and additional economic burdens on Turkey in case of an operation against Iraq during the dinner last night, adding that when a new regime is set up in Iraq, when it thinks about the future of its own people, this will bring stability both for Turkey and also for regional countries.