Hopeful Turn in U.S.-Turkish Relations

Nora Boustany’s article in yesterday edition entitled, ‘Hopeful Turn in Turkish-U.S. Relations’, stated, "U.S.-Turkish relations that were strained last spring when the Turkish government denied the United States permission

to stage operations for the Iraq invasion on its territory is now on a hopeful turn in positive direction."

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal’s Washington visit last week within the framework of the Turkey-U.S. Economic Partnership Commission was mentioned. Boustany reported that in the meetings, Ziyal offered Turkey’s services to facilitate operations in Iraq. The list of countries that will directly

compete for the $18,6 billion bid has officially been announced. U.S. Deputy

Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the list consisted of the U.S., Iraq, coalition partners and countries providing military support in Iraq due to ‘national security reasons’. It was stated that countries that refused to support the U.S. in Iraq, such as France, Germany, and Russia, could be disturbed by this development. However, certain U.S. news sources indicated

that these countries could benefit by selling goods to the companies from countries that have been awarded contracts.