‘Lets Bring an End to This Row With Turkey’

About the Grand National Assembly of Turkey’s rejection of the parliamentary note allowing the deployment of the foreign soldiers, the former senator wrote: ‘This decision shocked the ones who thought that Ankara was a trustworthy ally,’ said Kerry, adding, "Our heart broke and because we were angry. We didn’t want to understand the matter. The situation was same in Turkey. A public poll conducted a short while ago indicated that 50 percent of the ones who liked America in 1999 dropped to 15 percent. The percentage of Turks who believe that the US President took the right decision is not more than 8 percent. Turks don’t want themselves to be seen as a public that ‘can be bought by economic promises.’ On the other hand, we say, ‘you must pay for every mistake.’ In Washington the word going round is that Turkey must pay for its mistake."

Both sides are wrong

Kerry, who is of the opinion that both sides are wrong, stated further, "Both countries should forget the non-affirmative sides in the [parliamentary note’s] vote. Turkey and the USA are two countries who share the vision of democracy, and whose people have the right to decide their fate and the right to choose."

Later in the statement, it was proposed that Turkey and the US hold a conference in Istanbul to discuss the future of Iraq, and that countries who support a secular and prosperous Iraq be invited.

aa / New york / USA