Turkey allows US to use its territory: Supplies for troops in Northern Iraq
ANKARA, April 2: US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday secured Turkish logistical support for US operations in northern Iraq, and again warned Ankara against sending troops over the border into the Kurdish-held region.
“We have solved all the outstanding issues with respect to providing supplies through Turkey to those units” in northern Iraq, Mr Powell told reporters at a joint news conference with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.
The agreement came after weeks of bilateral tension triggered by the Turkish parliament’s refusal last month to allow the deployment of 62,000 US soldiers to open a “northern front” against Iraq — a move that, military strategists say, might have helped to shorten the war and minimize casualties.
Mr Powell said Washington was “disappointed” by the rejection, but he described Turkey as an “important member” of the coalition against President Saddam Hussein and praised its decision to open its airspace to US planes.
A senior Turkish official said the agreement between the two sides included the passage of humanitarian aid through Turkey, as well as food, medical supplies and fuel supplies for the US troops airlifted or parachuted into northern Iraq.
Turkey is also allowing wounded US soldiers to be treated in Turkey, the official said on condition of anonymity.
However, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters later that supplies to US forces would not include weapons or ammunition.
The announcements came after Mr Powell met President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Erdogan, Gul and army chief Hilmi Ozkok to resolve the two countries differences over Iraq.
The two sides have agreed on an “early warning process” to inform each other of any possible problem situation in northern Iraq, and will set up a “coordination committee” to work out how to respond to such a situation, he said.
Mr Powell, who arrived in Turkey late Tuesday, left on Wednesday afternoon for Belgrade where he was to express support for the Balkan country following the assassination last month of prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
After a brief stopover, he was to travel on to Brussels for discussions on Thursday on Iraq with NATO and EU ministers.
US ARMY JEEPS: The Turkish army said on Wednesday that some 200 US army jeeps were crossing into northern Iraq after the Turkish parliament refused to allow the deployment of US troops here.
A statement from the general staff said that the 204 unarmed Hummer jeeps had been sent to Turkey within the framework of Ankara’s permission for the United States to upgrade Turkish air bases and ports in preparation of a war against Iraq.
“In line with the approval of a request by the US, these vehicles have been in shipment to northern Iraq for sometime in batches,” the army statement read.
“No other weapons, military supplies or equipment have been shipped,” it added.
The army statement coincided with a one-day visit to Ankara by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, during which the two sides agreed on the transfer of supplies to US troops in northern Iraq through Turkey.
But the general staff denied that the shipment of the jeeps was related to Mr Powell’s trip.
The United States was forced to airlift troops to Kurdish-held northern Iraq after Ankara rebuffed Washington’s demands for its troops to use Turkish territory as a launching pad for attacks on Iraq. Turkey later opened its airspace to US warplanes for overflights.
