US Reaffirms Solidarity with Turkey

Richard Boucher, a State Department Spokesman, said during a press briefing that Secretary of State Colin Powell and Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, spoke about Telafer over the phone last Friday. Boucher reported, "They [the Turkish government] have concerns about some of the military operations being carried out around a town in northern Iraq called Telafer."

He continued, "The Turkish Government has been concerned about the Turkish — Turkoman civilians — people who live, have been living in that town, because many of them had to flee due to the insurgents’ presence and the fighting that has ensued because of that."

Boucher told reporters that the American Army reopened the city, but did not confirm the speculation that Turkey may withdraw their support for the US in Iraq, "I’d just reiterate that we do work very closely with Turkey on a whole range of issues regarding Iraq. Turkey’s Government has reiterated to us, and I think in public as well, that they want this cooperation to continue."