Turkey criticize US policy on Iraq

The US Department of State has announced that the visit to be held by the US under secretary of state in charge of Europe and central Asia affairs Elizabeth Jones and the visit of the Iraqi deputy premier Tareq Aziz at the same time to Turkey next week is just a coincidence.

US state department spokesman Richard Boutcher said that Jones' visit to Ankara on Monday and Tuesday comes to discuss political and economic issues, and that concerning Iraq there is no contact of any sort decided with Iraq.

According to the Turkish Presidency, Jones will be meeting in particular with the Turkish foreign minister Shukri Sina Ghouril while Aziz will hold talks with the Turkish prime minister Polent Acawit.

Acawit had criticized the US policy, stressing that the fact that the US suspicious that Baghdad is developing non- traditional weapons does not justify launching a war against Iraq.