Newsweek: Exclusive Interview: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

On the eve of the war against Iraq, Erdogan says he was on the verge of asking the Turkish Parliament to grant the U.S. overflight rights and to approve Turkish troops to operate along with U.S. troops in northern Iraq. When Weymouth notes that this was part of the full cooperation package that Turkey turned down, Erdogan says, "The latest demand from Secretary Powell was for overflights only. But when we were asked for overflight rights, we said we would like to see Turkish troops in northern Iraq, and the U.S. approved that … Our foreign minister made this agreement during a discussion with Colin Powell."
Erdogan says that Turkey will be allowed to go approximately 12 miles inside northern Iraq in order to prevent difficulties among Kurdish groups there. Responding to the claim that Kurds will resist Turkish troops if they enter Iraq, Erdogan says, "We have spoken to our American friends about this situation. Turkey is not going there to occupy [northern Iraq]." When asked why Iran doesn’t have the right to send troops into northern Iraq if Turkey does, Erdogan says, "We are doing that in accordance with an agreement [with the United States]." Erdogan foresees Turkish participation in a U.N. peacekeeping force in post-war Iraq.
Regarding the last-minute negotiations with the U.S., Erdogan says, "The negotiations started back in January, and we came to this point because we didn’t have positive results. The U.S. media has a huge responsibility: they showcased Turkey as a country just doing things for monetary gain. We suffered major damage after the gulf war, and our people and Parliament know this. Now we are entering this war and will incur another loss."
Erdogan tells Weymouth, "Our goal is an Iraq with a totally democratic structure where the territorial integrity is secured and where all the natural resources belong to the citizens of the country. We’d like to see an Iraq where the interests of the Kurds, the Arabs and the Turkmen are respected."