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ANKARA: Turkish-US Relations: National Security Council and Comment

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  • ANKARA: Turkish-US Relations: National Security Council and Comment

    Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
    2005-04-01 12:02:17

    Turkish-US Relations: The National Security Council and a Civilian Comment
    Ferai Tinc
    Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on Turkish-US relations. A summary of her
    column is as follows:

    `Turkish-US relations have recently been issue one for our country. Although
    neither government will admit to there being a problem, recent media reports
    have argued that there's an ongoing crisis between Ankara and Washington.

    National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Yigit Alpogan on Wednesday
    delivered a remarkable speech on this issue at the Turkish-US Business
    Council in Istanbul. `Recent `crisis' allegations are baseless, but our
    partnership must still be revamped,' he said. `We need a healthier dialogue
    and frank conversation.'

    Attendees of the meeting included US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman and
    Istanbul Chief Consul David Arnett. Alpogan underlined that first of all
    Ankara's doubts and concerns about Iraq must be dispelled so that bilateral
    relations can be revamped.

    `Our countries need to harmonize their policies on the northern Iraq and
    Kirkuk issues,' said Alpogan. `In this context, two essential issues that
    come to mind are protecting Iraq's territorial integrity and eliminating the
    terrorist PKK's presence in northern Iraq.' Alpogan added that the US should
    also support Turkey's EU membership bid and not make concessions on the
    so-called Armenian genocide allegations. Furthermore, he asked Washington to
    see Ankara as an effective player in the Mideast peace process.

    Not only Turkish but also American officials are currently trying to give
    positive messages about bilateral relations. US Defense Secretary Donald
    Rumsfeld on Wednesday denied that he had criticized Turkey's refusal to let
    American troops deploy on its soil before the Iraq war. In addition, Edelman
    said that intergovernmental relations were in fine shape.

    However, the more positive messages we get, the more we tend to read between
    the lines. Each day brings new and conflicting statements concerning
    Incirlik Airbase. Although the Americans insist that their requests were
    shaped in line with the Defense and Cooperation Agreement between our two
    countries, Ankara believes that matters concerning third parties can't be
    evaluated in the context of this agreement.

    Both sides are blaming the media for harming bilateral relations through
    baseless exaggerations. However, as the problems are so obvious, these
    accusations are completely unfair. As Alpogan said, `It's the task of
    officials of our two countries to defend common interests with courage and
    without hesitation.' This is an important point.'

    Source: Hurriyet via BYEGM, 1 April 2005
    2005-04-01 12:02:17
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