GUL: “TURKEY WANTS TO ENTER NORTHERN IRAQ IN ORDER TO PREVENT A REFUGEE CRISIS”
Turkey plans to send its troops some 20 kilometers (12 miles) into northern Iraq to prevent a flood of refugees across its borders, but will withdraw the forces if their presence proves counterproductive, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul pledged yesterday. “Following the 1991 Gulf War, hundreds of thousands of starving, freezing Kurds created a humanitarian disaster for Turkey, and we don’t want to be faced with the same problem again,” said Gul. “We want to keep all refugees at the border. This is clear.” He added that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government was determined to prevent a crisis. “It is natural that we are acting in coordination with our allies during a time of war, but Turkey will decide whether it will intervene in northern Iraq when needed,” said Gul. “There is no negativity in negotiations between Turkey and the US,” he added. /Aksam/

NSC MEETING TO DISCUSS WAR AND NORTHERN IRAQ SITUATION
The National Security Council (NSC) is due to meet on Friday, with new Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in attendance for the first time. The gathering is expected to focus on the ongoing Iraq war and possible contingencies in northern Iraq. Specifically, the role of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on the Turkish-Iraqi border, Kurdish groups in the region, and the presence of terrorist group PKK/KADEK in northern Iraq are expected to be discussed. Also on the agenda could be Turkey’s response to terrorist threats, a refugee crisis, or a Kurdish state forming in the region, or if the rights of Iraq’s 2.5 million ethnic Turkmen are ignored. /Cumhuriyet/

NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL ROBERTSON: “NATO HAS NOT MADE ANY DECISION ABOUT A TURKISH PRESENCE IN NORTHERN IRAQ”
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said yesterday that the alliance had yet to make any decision about Turkey’s proposals to send its troops up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) into northern Iraq. Referring to Turkey’s pledges that such deployment would be for humanitarian purposes only, Robertson added, “There is no upsurge of [northern Iraqi] refugees in the region at the moment, so the issue does not arise as to whether NATO agrees or not.” The planned deployment by longtime NATO member Turkey had drawn criticism by alliance members opposed to the US-led Iraq war. /Aksam/

TURKEY ASSURES EU COMMISSION ON HUMANITARIAN AIMS IN NORTHERN IRAQ
Turkey has assured the European Commission that it has no intention of staging a military operation in northern Iraq, said commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen yesterday. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Kemppinen added that Turkey’s Ambassador to NATO Ahmet Uzumcu had told commission President Romano Prodi that any Turkish military presence in the region would be for humanitarian purposes only. In related news, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday that he didn’t believe the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq would necessarily destabilize the region. After a telephone briefing on Ankara’s plans by Turkish leaders, Solana added that he expected Turkey to keep its word concerning its conduct in the proposed northern Iraq “buffer zone.” /Aksam/

US PROPOSES $8.5 BILLION IN LOANS, LOAN GUARANTEES TO TURKEY
The Bush administration’s war budget submitted to the US Congress on Monday includes $1 billion in cash grants for Turkey, which in turn is leveragable for up to $8.5 billion in loans. The administration hopes to pass the budget, which requires congressional approval, by April 11. While the White House noted that Turkey had not requested the funds, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher added that the US “thought it prudent to put aside some money to help our friend and ally Turkey deal with economic consequences” of the Iraq war. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer also cited Turkey’s “impressive progress” in economic reform as a reason for the grant. A previous Turkish-US deal had envisioned up to $6 billion in grants, contingent on US troop deployments that the Turkish Parliament rejected, though it later approved US warplane flights in Turkey’s airspace. In related news, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that the funds proposed by the US administration weren’t related to the issue of opening a “northern front.” He remarked that the money was instead intended to help compensate for Turkey’s losses due to the US-led Iraq war. /All Papers/

EU COMMISSION TO APPROVE ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT TODAY
The European Union Commission is to release Turkey’s new Accession Partnership Document today following its approval by the commissioners. The document covers developments in Turkish-EU relations as well as expectations from Turkey. Sources said that the document proposes increasing the EU’s accession financial aid to Turkey and extending some 1.07 billion euros in financial aid from 2004 to 2006. At last year’s Copenhagen summit, the EU envisioned beginning membership negotiations with Turkey in December 2004, contingent on progress in a number of areas. /Turkiye/

SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER’S VISIT TO TURKEY BEGINS TOMORROW
Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio is to pay an official visit to Ankara tomorrow. According to a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement, Palacio is to be received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The visiting minister is also expected to hold inter-delegations meetings with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. /Cumhuriyet/

FITCH CUTS TURKEY’S RATING
International ratings agency Fitch said yesterday that it had cut Turkey’s long-term rating from B to B- with a negative outlook, citing concerns about 2003 funding and volatile domestic debt valuations. However, the agency affirmed its short-term rating of B. /Turkiye/

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION