A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Turkey |
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| sofia |
| 02/21/03 at 13:37:05 |
| I know, they're not the only "turkeys," but I was hoping for something different. ------ Turkey Official: Agreement on Troop Deal By HARMONIE TOROS, Associated Press Writer ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkey's foreign minister said Friday there was broad agreement with the United States on the conditions for deploying U.S. troops in his country ahead of a possible war in Iraq. Yasar Yakis did not say when he expected a deal to be reached, saying that depended on ongoing negotiations on some outstanding issues regarding the military, economic and political dimensions of the deployment. "There is a very broad agreement on all subjects," Yakis said in an interview with CNN. "The remaining issues are not that many, but I think we will be able to overcome the differences and mutually agree." Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said he expected a result in the coming days. "It is certain that we understand their concerns and they understand ours in the best possible way and a result will be reached in the coming days," Gul told a meeting of businessmen in Istanbul. Turkish and U.S. officials have been in intense negotiations for weeks on the conditions of the deployment. Washington wants to use Turkey to open a northern front for war with Iraq and has warned Ankara that time is running out. U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson said Friday after talks at the Foreign Ministry that the two sides were continuing to overcome obstacles. One of the main sticking points has been the size of a U.S. aid package to compensate Turkey for losses incurred in a war, diplomats said, although military and political issues were also outstanding. Yakis appeared confident that Turkey's parliament would ratify an agreement. If Turkey's "expectations are fulfilled, then of course it would increase the chances of the motion being approved," he said. However, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's leading politician, said he hopes lawmakers from his ruling party would approve the deployment but he would not order them to, an official with his Justice and Development Party said Friday on condition of anonymity. That raised the possibility that a draft authorizing the deployment could be defeated in parliament. An overwhelming majority of Turks opposed to a war in Iraq, and deputies would have difficulty justifying their decision to back a U.S. deployment to their constituencies. Washington has been pressing for Turkey to accept a quick agreement. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news <http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_mi_ea/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=%22Colin%20Powell%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw> - web sites <http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_mi_ea/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?cs=nw&p=Colin%20Powell>) said Thursday he was expecting an answer by Turkey by the end of the day — but the Turks said talks were continuing. Turkey has demanded $10 billion in grants and $20 billion more in loans, while the United States is proposing a grant of around $6 billion. Negotiators are discussing the possibility that some of the U.S. grant money could be converted in much larger loans, a Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Under the formula being discussed, each billion in grants that is converted would become $6 billion to $10 billion in loans, depending on the length of the loan and the amount of interest paid, the diplomat said. Washington is also insisting that the loans be linked to a stringent program of economic reform that is backed by the International Monetary Fund (news <http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_mi_ea/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=%22International%20Monetary%20Fund%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw> - web sites <http://rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_mi_ea/inlinks/*http://rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=IMF+&h=c>). Turkey wants the U.S. aid to be separate from the IMF loans and conditions. Turks are also worried that war in Iraq will lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state that would boost aspirations of Turkey's Kurds. According to the daily newspaper Hurriyet, Turkey is insisting that Iraqi Kurdish groups controlling northern Iraq be disarmed after a war under Turkish supervision. Toughening Turkey's stance, Erdogan insisted that any agreement had to be in writing and signed by the "highest authority," Anatolia said. The Western diplomat said Washington believed that once the substance of the agreement had been reached, the form would not be a problem. The standoff comes as U.S. ships loaded with tanks and other equipment are off the Turkish coast, ready to bring in war equipment for the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. Turkish lawmakers have already authorized the U.S. modernization of Turkish bases and ports. |
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