GUL: “WAR AGAINST IRAQ IS ALL BUT INEVITABLE, BUT OUR EFFORTS FOR PEACE WILL CONTINUE”
Speaking yesterday at the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK), Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said that a US-led operation against Iraq was at this point “all but inevitable.” Gul added, however, that the AKP government had done its utmost to avert war and that these efforts would continue until the last moment, as there was still a slim chance of a peaceful resolution. He also said that the next two weeks would be critical since Parliament is set to make a decision on Turkey’s participation in a war against Iraq. Stating that such a war would lead to a change in Iraq’s regime, Gul remarked, “Therefore, Turkey supporting an operation is appropriate since we should play a role in Iraq’s reconstruction process.” /Turkiye/
ECONOMY MINISTER TUZMEN VISITS SYRIA TO BOOST BILATERAL TRADE
State Minister for the Economy Kursat Tuzmen travelled to Syria on Friday in a bid to improve Turkish-Syrian trade ties. After holding separate meetings with Syrian Finance Minister Muhammed Atras, Tourism Minister Sadullah Agha Kalaa, Industry Minister Issam Zaim and Communications Minister Mekrem Obeyd, Tuzmen returned to Turkey yesterday. /Milliyet/
BAYKAL: “WE SHOULDN’T ALLOW THE STATIONING OF US TROOPS IN OUR COUNTRY”
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday declared his opposition to Turkey allowing the United States to station troops on Turkish soil. Appearing on news channel CNN Turk, Baykal stated that the CHP’s deputies in Parliament would vote in favor of a resolution to send Turkish troops to northern Iraq but against one allowing US troops to be stationed in Turkey for a possible Iraq intervention. The CHP currently holds fewer than one-third of the seats in Parliament. “Turkey’s sending troops into northern Iraq wouldn’t mean waging a war against this country but would rather be an act of defense, as there will definitely be a power vacuum in the region in case of a conflict,” said Baykal. “However, allowing US troops to use our country’s soil as a staging ground would amount to rushing into war alongside the US.” /Hurriyet/
ISTANBUL DEMONSTRATION SHOWS SUPPORT FOR TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS
Nearly 1,000 people participated in a public demonstration in Istanbul over the weekend in a show of support for Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas. Some prominent figures taking part in the demonstration were True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar, Great Union Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazicioglu, Nationalist Action Party (MHP) deputy leader Sevket Bulent Yahnici, and former Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel. Denktas is in the midst of a critical period, facing criticism at home and abroad as a Feb. 28 deadline for a settlement on Cyprus looms larger every day. /Turkiye/
SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER LINDH TO MEET WITH GUL, ERDOGAN
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh yesterday arrived in Turkey to hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis. During their meetings, recent international and domestic developments are expected to be discussed. Lindh is also expected to meet with officials from the governor’s office in the southeastern Anatolian province of Diyarbakir. /Aksam/
IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AZIZ: “I HOPE TURKEY WILL NOT SUPPORT A US-LED OPERATION AGAINST IRAQ”
Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said yesterday that since the Turkish public was certainly opposed to a US-led operation against Iraq, he hoped that the Turkish Parliament would decide not to support such an operation. Aziz stated that the 1991 Gulf War had imposed heavy burdens on Turkey’s economy and that a new war would do the same. He furthermore denied US charges that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. /Aksam/
CITING PROTECTION AGAINST “ADVERSE DEVELOPMENTS,” TURKISH MILITARY ACCELERATES BUILDUP AT IRAQI BORDER
Ahead of possible US-led war against Iraq, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has accelerated the process of sending additional troops, weapons and equipment to the southeastern Anatolian province of Silopi, a small town near the Habur Gate bordering northern Iraq. Yesterday, some 800 troops and over 30 tanks and other armored military vehicles were sent to the region, while additional reinforcements are currently en route. According to official statements, the buildup is aiming at forestalling any “adverse developments” in northern Iraq and preventing a possible wave of refugees straining against Turkey’s borders in case of war. Turkey has not formally agreed to participate in any offensive against its neighbor Iraq. /Cumhuriyet/
WASHINGTON REPORTEDLY IMPATIENT WITH TURKEY’S “INDECISION” ON STAGING TROOPS, WILL PUSH FOR QUICK PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL
Even after the influential National Security Council (MGK) decision on Friday to support US requests for cooperation ahead of a possible Iraq conflict, the US is reportedly still impatient with the lack of a firm decision from the Turkish government, diplomatic sources said over the weekend. Turkey’s active support is seen by the US as “crucial” to its military strategy, the sources added, and Washington will pressure the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to speedily push a resolution through Parliament before the beginning of next week’s Feast of the Sacrifice holiday (Kurban Bayram). Parliament’s approval is constitutionally required for an official go-ahead for the US to station troops and use Turkish airbases and harbors, as Washington has requested. While Turkey’s leadership has consistently called for a second UN resolution authorizing military force against Iraq to secure its cooperation with the US, Washington’s patience has worn thin as the timeframe for a military buildup in Turkey, expected to take several weeks, has grown increasingly narrow. US President George W. Bush’s recent assertion that the Iraq issue would be resolved in “weeks, not months” has been widely interpreted as signaling an imminent offensive. /Cumhuriyet/
US TO APPOINT NEW AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA THIS SUMMER TO SUCCEED ROBERT PEARSON
The Bush administration has settled on its choice for a new ambassador to Ankara to succeed current ambassador Robert Pearson at the post this summer, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Their choice, Eric Edelman, 51, US Vice President Dick Cheney’s national security advisor and a Pentagon aide when Cheney was defense secretary during the first Bush administration, has yet to be formally nominated to the post. Pearson has served in Ankara as ambassador since 2000. The Times described the position as being “even more important politically and more difficult diplomatically” in the current volatile international climate. /Cumhuriyet/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION