Milliyet: Turkey's position regarding Iraq

The Turkish daily Milliyet said yesterday that the US has sent a message to Turkey saying that the American- Turkish deployment into north Iraq will be conducive to quick results for a likely military operation against Iraq.

Milliyet added quoting one Western diplomat as saying that the US gave a guarantee to Turkey concerning the red lines which the US will observe, which include not permitting the foundation of a Kurdish state in Northern Iraq after Saddam's administration, and not permitting the "ethnic" groups to use the natural resources in Karkouk and al-Mousel.

The western diplomat indicated that the American attempt to involve the NATO in a likely war achieved a great deal, noting that Turkey stressed, clearly for the US administration that it does not need a second decision issued by the UN SecurityCouncil in case of a military operation.

When asked that Turkey's Foreign Minister articulated Turkey's position as follows: He said fairly explicitly that Turkey would require a second UN Security Council Resolution before any military campaign could be launched from Turkish soil, US deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz had said "in fact the Foreign Minister stated this correctly."