Turkey: We will go Iraq for a short time

Responding to questions of journalists about sending soldiers to Iraq, Sahin said that they talked about alliance relationship, cooperation and the views for the future during the meetings with U.S. delegation yesterday.

Sahin said that U.S. delegation told the Turkish side that they appreciated the sensitivity of Turkey in international relations and particularly in fight with terrorism. Sahin said that the special issue in that meeting was Iraq and they exchanged views about it. Noting that they explained to U.S. side that the social and economic difficulties of the Iraq were too much, Sahin said that measures that would ease the daily lives of the people had to be taken urgently. Sahin stated that the leader of U.S. commission told them that they would discuss a proposal of payment that covered humanitarian aid to Iraq.

Sahin pointed out that Turkey became a country whose policies were followed by everybody, adding that Turkey was in a dynamic point in foreign policy.

Stressing that being a determining state in the region had always been a state tradition for Turkey, Sahin said that "we want to serve world peace, we also want peace in our region. We want stability in Iraq as soon as possible and that the Iraqi people should elect its administrators as soon as possible."

"The motion is for one year. This means that we tell both Turkey, Iraq and the whole world that if we go to Iraq for a short time, we will do our mission and return back. We are not an army of occupation," he said.

When a reporter reminded him about the resistance of the Iraqi governing council against the Turkish army, Sahin said that demand for soldiers came from the U.S., which was the leader of alliance powers in Iraq. "Our interlocutor in this issue is the U.S. which brought the interim government to power. This problem is the problem of the U.S. rather than us. Therefore we don’t respond to such statements."

When another journalist reminded him about the risks waiting for Turkish soldiers in Iraq, Sahin said that 3,000 TIRs and lorries brought goods to Iraq in one day. "There is also risk in it, there is also risk when you go outside from home," he said.

"When a result is taken from the negotiations with the U.S., we will start deploying the soldiers. The negotiations continue and we try to decrease the risks to the minimum level," he said.

Upon a question asking when would the number and place of Turkish soldiers be determined, Sahin said that "we can’t say anything before the negotiations end, but it won’t be more than 1-2 weeks."