Logoglu: Unofficial Pre-meetings Are Held For U.S.'s Use Of Turkish Airspace

WASHINGTON D.C. - Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Faruk Logoglu said late on Tuesday that unofficial pre-meetings were held about the use of Turkish airspace by the U.S. within the scope of the Iraqi crisis, adding that the U.S. didn't have such an official demand from Turkey yet.
Speaking to correspondents of defense, Logoglu said that if a consensus was reached between the governments in this issue, the approval of the parliament would be necessary.
Logoglu stressed that the U.S. war planes which were used in Incirlik base within the scope of Northern Watch could only be used for defense purposes, adding ''these planes can't take part in an operation against Iraq for the moment.''
Logoglu said that the negotiations which were carried on had the exploratory character and that official decisions could be taken by political authority. Reminding that AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan who was charged with founding the new government carried out studies in this regard, Logoglu suggested the U.S. to act patiently about its military demands.
(ÖS-AÖ) 12.03.2003