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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Huang who wrote (11984)	2/23/2003 8:35:15 AM
From: Ed Huang	Respond to of 25898

Turkish Foreign Minister Says U.S. Troop Deal Close Sun February 23, 2003 07:59 AM ET By Steve Bryant ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister said Sunday a deal to let U.S. troops use the country as a base for any attack on Iraq was close, but issues such as control of northern Iraqi cities and oil fields needed final agreement. Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis told the CNN Turk television channel there was a "high probability" that a deal could be reached in time for a parliamentary vote Tuesday. Washington wants parliamentary approval urgently so that shiploads of U.S. military hardware standing by in the Mediterranean can land at Turkish ports. Yakis said Turkey wanted to ensure U.S. weapons did not end up in the hands of Kurdish rebel groups during any war and that Turkish forces would be under Turkish command. He said Turkey was also worried over who would control Iraqi oil fields around the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul if the United States invades over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. Yakis said Turkey was concerned that Iraqi Kurds expelled from the two cities by the Iraqi government would rush to reclaim their homes and possibly claim the oil fields too. "The formulation we are nearing agreement on is that those areas will be under U.S. control," Yakis said. The two NATO allies are close to a deal that will earn Turkey approximately $5 billion in grants and $10 billion in loans to shore up its economy against the impact of war. NO HORSE-TRADING Yakis denied any haggling with the United States over money and said the areas of debate were more political and military. "We're not horse-trading, this is two allies having a deep discussion on how to cooperate," Yakis said. Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has said the cabinet will meet Monday. It is expected to debate the deal ahead of parliamentary ratification. Yakis said Turkey was also determined to prevent Iraq breaking up into separate ethnic areas. Turkey fears that any Kurdish independence in northern Iraq could inspire its own restive Kurdish citizens to take up arms again. "A Kurdistan should not be set up," Yakis said. Iraqi Kurdish leaders, who deny any intention of making a lunge for independence, have assailed Turkish plans to send troops into northern Iraq under the pretext of helping refugees. "No one wants another fight, of course," Hoshiyar Zebari, spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Party, one of the two main Kurdish political groups, told reporters in Arbil Sunday. "But if there's a forced incursion, done under the pretext of 'I'm going to give you forced aid', then believe me there will be uncontrolled clashes," he said. "And it will be bad for the image of the United States, Britain and other countries who want to help Iraq, to see two of their allies, Turkey and Kurdistan, at each other's throats." Zebari said Kurdish leaders and the Turkish military were planning to meet Tuesday to clarify Turkish plans. In Tehran, Iranian Kurd parliamentarians also voiced concern about Turkish intentions in Iraq and accused Ankara of seeking to control Kirkuk and Mosul, once part of the Ottoman empire. The 22-strong Iranian Kurdish parliamentary faction wrote to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, European Union leaders and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, urging them to prevent any Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq. "Who in the world does not know that Turks have a desire for Kirkuk oil and annexation of Kirkuk and Mosul to their soil?" the letters said. "Authorizing a Turkish military presence in Iraqi Kurdistan means authorizing genocide and termination of Iraq's territorial integrity." Turkey's negotiations over the deal with the United States have gone on for weeks, sometimes in painstaking detail. "We discussed for hours over who will pay for printing the ID cards (for U.S. troops)," Yakis said. Progress was made Saturday with a revised aid package which would give Turkey $6 billion, of which $1 billion would secure an immediate $10 billion loan. Earlier U.S. proposals were to spread the aid over three years. The latest version lets Ankara take the cash up-front. Turkey feels it was never properly compensated for damage it suffered because of the 1991 Gulf War and is determined to ensure its interests are protected this time. The U.S. aid is expected to be linked to Turkey's adherence to a $16 billion International Monetary Fund loan package. Ankara fears a war could jeopardize economic recovery, upset the region, raise the cost of oil and batter its tourism trade. reuters.com