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Turkey hedges on air base offer
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Hours after Turkey's foreign minister said Tuesday the United States would be allowed to use Turkish air bases in a possible war with Iraq, his office said the country had made no such commitment. The statement from the Foreign Ministry seemed to underscore just how delicate the issue is in the only NATO country whose population is predominantly Muslim. Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said earlier in the day that Turkey would prefer a peaceful solution to the Iraq situation, but if it comes to war then "of course we will cooperate with the United States because it's a big ally and we have excellent relations with the United States." "What we mean by cooperation is opening air bases and opening facilities," Yakis said in a news conference after meeting with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Hours later, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying: "The fact that he [Yakis] has referred to these possibilities does not mean a commitment on the part of Turkey." The U.S. military currently uses Turkish air bases to launch planes over the northern no-fly zone in Iraq, patrolled by U.S. and British aircraft since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. Yakis' announcement also came after a day of meetings with U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who traveled to the region seeking Turkish support for a possible war with Iraq if President Saddam Hussein refuses to disarm. In a CNN interview, Wolfowitz said the chances "of achieving peaceful disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is greatly increased by Turkish-U.S. cooperation. "It's important for Saddam Hussein to understand that he's surrounded by an international coalition ... that is prepared and able to use force if necessary," Wolfowitz said. He said Turkish officials he met with "understand very clearly that our real hope for a peaceful outcome to this crisis is to maintain the pressure on Saddam Hussein." Wolfowitz said Iraq and the world "would be better off" without Saddam as the Iraqi leader and that military officials were planning the mobilization of forces "to enforce the U.N. Security Council resolution that requires Iraqi disarmament if it's necessary." "Our goal right now is disarmament, but that isn't our only concern in Iraq," he said. Wolfowitz's visit to Turkey was part of a trip through Europe seeking support from several nations if war comes. He will meet Wednesday with NATO leaders in Brussels. Saddam has rejected claims by the United States and Britain that he has weapons of mass destruction. Teams of U.N. weapons inspectors resumed inspections six days ago after a four-year hiatus. (Full story)
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