STRASBOURG - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Monday, ''a second resolution of the United Nations can be required to launch a military operation against Iraq.''
Prime Minister Gul held a press conference after addressing the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (COEPA) meeting.
Responding a question about Iraq, Prime Minister Gul said, ''a second resolution of the United Nations can be required in line with international legitimacy.''
''Turkey has been expending great efforts to prevent a possible war. As a neighboring country, Turkey has to make some preparations against all kinds of scenarios,'' he told reporters.
Prime Minister Gul said that the next two weeks were of great importance in regard to developments about Iraq.
''The Gulf War caused an inflow of refugees to Turkey. It affected Turkish economy negatively,'' he said.
Stressing that Turkey attributed great importance to the territorial integrity of Iraq, Prime Minister Gul said, ''however, Turkey, as a neighboring country to Iraq, has some concerns. Everyone should understand Turkey's sensitivities.''
Responding a question about the Cyprus question, Prime Minister Gul said, ''Turkey is in favor of finding a solution. Our government does not consider insolubility a solution. However, the Turkish Cypriot people was subjected to many pains in the past. We do not want to live these bitter experiences once again. Everybody knows what happened in Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-5 years ago. The Cyprus question cannot be solved with sacrifices of only one side.''
Responding a question about demonstrations in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Prime Minister Gul said, ''these demonstrations reveal the fact that the TRNC is a democratic country.''
When asked whether or not Turkey would act in accord with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about the case of Greek Cypriot citizen Titiana Loizidou, Prime Minister Gul said, ''this case is political, not judicial.'' He noted that solution of the Cyprus question would make an important contribution to solution of other problems in Cyprus.
Stressing that official language of Turkey was Turkish, Prime Minister Gul said, ''our citizens are free to learn other languages. There is not any legal restriction to this end.''
Responding a question about complaints of lawyers of Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization, Prime Minister Gul said, ''sometimes, lawyers cannot go to Imrali Island where Ocalan has been imprisoned, due to bad weather conditions. Expect for this, there is not any restriction.''
When asked, ''there were claims in a Swiss newspaper saying that the United States would provide Turkey with an aid of 4 billion U.S. dollars in return for its assistance. What will you say?'' Prime Minister Gul told reporters, ''Turkey's foreign policy was not based on relations of mutual interests. We harshly reject such claims saying that we have been cooperating with the United States for money.''
ERDOGAN: TURKEY SHOULD ACT IN ACCORD WITH RESOLUTIONS OF UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL ABOUT THE IRAQ ISSUE
ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, ''Turkey should act in accord with resolutions of the United Nations Security Council about the Iraq issue.''
Speaking at a news program on private ATV Channel, Erdogan said, ''Turkey should act in accord with resolutions of the United Nations Security Council about the Iraq issue.''
When asked whether or not tension escalated during the meeting in Davos with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Erdogan said, ''any tension was out of question. Both Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and I explained Turkey's views under diplomatic sensitivity.''
When asked, ''earlier, Mr. Powell said that time was running out. Did he bring this issue onto agenda in Davos?'' Erdogan said, ''the United States is in a hurry. However, we should take all steps carefully by taking into consideration some prices we had to pay in the past.''
Erdogan refrained from responding a question whether or not they made any requests from the United States about compensation of Turkey's losses in a possible war against Iraq.
Responding a question about statement of President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Erdogan said, ''I have never criticized Mr. Denktas unilaterally. I said that the sides did not expend enough efforts to solve the Cyprus question. I meant both President Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides. If we do not sit at the negotiation table to solve the problem, the problem cannot be solved. Both President Denktas and Clerides should display the same sacrifices. Cyprus is our national case. No one can exclude us from this case.''