Military

U.S.-Turkish Cooperation Key to Stability, Peace in Middle East

(Dec. 3, Istanbul: DOD's Wolfowitz with Turkish Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul) (860)
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, speaking in Istanbul
December 3, said he believes that U.S.-Turkish cooperation "can be the
key now and in the future to peace and stability in this region just
as it has been in the past."
In a press availability following his meeting with Prime Minister of
Turkey Abdullah Gul, Wolfowitz said they had discussed Iraq, Cyprus,
the European Union, and the Turkish economy.
"Our focus with Iraq is to try to bring about a peaceful resolution of
the problem that's posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and
that requires persuading Saddam Hussein that there has to be a
fundamental change. Turkish-American cooperation can be key to
achieving that peaceful outcome."
Wolfowitz also reiterated U.S. support for Turkish membership in the
European Union, and said "we are aware of how critical the upcoming
Copenhagen Summit will be."
He also said the United States is "determined to support Turkey
whatever comes to make sure that the Turkish economy continues to
recover."
Following is the transcript of Wolfowitz's remarks:
(begin transcript)
United States Department of Defense
DoD News Briefing
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002
(Media availability at the Turkish Prime Ministry)
Wolfowitz: I'm delighted to be back in Turkey and so is my colleague
Marc Grossman, who feels like Turkey is a second home. We had a very
constructive meeting just now with Prime Minister Gul. I'd known him
before, but this is my first chance to meet him as Prime Minister. It
was a pleasure to learn that our president, President Bush, was the
first foreign leader to call and congratulate him as prime minister. I
think that is a nice symbol of the close relationship between our two
countries.
We discussed -- there's a lot on the Turkish agenda right now and we
discussed a wide range of subjects. Very importantly, we talked about
Iraq, and our focus with Iraq is to try to bring about a peaceful
resolution of the problem that's posed by Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction, and that requires persuading Saddam Hussein that there
has to be a fundamental change. Turkish-American cooperation can be
key to achieving that peaceful outcome, which is what both our
countries greatly desire. Of course it's not the only issue on
Turkey's foreign agenda now. We are very conscious and supportive of
Turkey's desire to achieve membership in the European Union, and we
are aware of how critical the upcoming Copenhagen Summit will be for
Turkey's aspirations to eventually join the EU. We've been doing
everything that we can to be supportive of that effort and we talked
about that with the Prime Minister. Also talked about the issue of
Cyprus, which is very much on the agenda today also, and our interest
in helping in any way to support a fair and just resolution of that
problem.
So, once again overall it was a very constructive meeting. It's
clearly an exciting time for this new government in Turkey with an
awful lot on its plate. As we come as friends of Turkey and believing
greatly that U.S.-Turkish cooperation can be the key now and in the
future to peace and stability in this region just as it has been in
the past. Take a few questions.
Q: There are reports about U.S. has formally presented its demands
about Iraq?
Wolfowitz: Even before this government came into office we've had some
extensive discussions with the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the
Turkish Military about the various kinds of planning that can be done.
But, let me emphasize: our focus now, including in that planning, is
to do the things that we can to persuade Saddam Hussein that [U.N.
Security Council] Resolution 1441 represents a new era. That we are
not playing games any longer, that we have to have disarmament of
Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. President Bush has said voluntarily
if possible, by force if necessary. I believe that close UN/American
cooperation is going to be a key to achieving that desired goal of
having Iraq disarm voluntarily.
Q:  What about the military aspect of the planning?
Wolfowitz: Military planning is in that same context. Our focus now is
on convincing Saddam Hussein that we are serious, the world is
serious, U.S.-Turkish cooperation is serious. And the purpose I
believe is to finally convince him that he has to change his ways.
That's our real hope of gaining a peaceful resolution of this crisis.
One more question.
Q:  Did you talk about economic situation and aid to Turkey?
Wolfowitz: One thing that we did talk about is the deep concern in
Turkey about the condition of the Turkish economy. We've been working
closely with the Turkish Government in the IMF [International Monetary
Fund] and bilaterally ever since the economic crisis broke. We've
tried to help Turkey manage its way through it. We understand those
anxieties. We are determined to support Turkey whatever comes to make
sure that the Turkish economy continues to recover. If there is a
crisis in this region, we know that Turkey is going to be one of the
countries the most affected. We want to make sure we deal with that.
Thank you very much.
(end transcript)
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Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)