POLITICS
TURKEY MULLS ITS MILITARY ROLE IN IRAQ
On 24 July, at the Department of State, the parties discussed bilateral, regional issues, also exchanged views on the issues of Cyprus and Near East problems.
Despite some misunderstandings between these NATO partners, the parties have stated that the problems occurred just because of their 50-year-long close relations. America and Turkey can remove them easily.
Colin Powell thanked his counterpart for assistance proposals for the restoration of Iraq, humanitarian and other issues. Participation of the UN and NATO would ease the actions for establishment of stability in Iraq, foreign minister of Turkey said.
In his 4-day visit, foreign minister of Turkey Abdulla Gul is to meet with the vice-president Dick Cheney, defense minister Donald Rumsfeld and the US President’s aide on national security Ms. Condoleezza Rice. He will deliver lectures at several institutions, and extend Turkey’s position related to the events in the region.
According to Abdulla Gul, the United States must rely on the opinion of Turkey – strategic neighbor of Iraq. ‘Turkey knows better this part of the world. We have ruled in these territories for hundred years. And we can give you useful advices that can speed up establishment of stability in Iraq’, he said in his interview to ‘The Washington Post’.