USIA - U.S., Turkey to take Diplomatic Initiative in N. Iraq (96-09-23)

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From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at <gopher://gopher.usia.gov>

U.S., TURKEY TO TAKE DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVE IN NORTHERN IRAQ

(Christopher, Ciller will work with Kurds, Turkomans) (1020)

By Judy Aita
USIA United Nations Correspondent

After a meeting between Secretary of State Christopher and Turkish Foreign Minister Ciller in New York, Burns said that the United States and Turkey were in agreement about what the next steps should be in the region and the fact that Saddam Hussein does not figure in the equation.

Both ministers are in New York attending the opening of the 51st General Assembly of the United Nations.

One of the most important developments came before the meeting when Ciller told journalists that she was misunderstood by a New York Times reporter on the role of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in northern Iraq. She denied that Ankara would give the Iraqi leader a free hand in the West-protected northern Iraq security zone if Saddam Hussein took action against the PKK Turkish Kurds.

"That's obviously a misunderstanding," she said of the New York Times article. "We want to stop the influx of refugees through our borders," Ciller told journalists before her meeting with Christopher. "But we cannot ask Saddam to do that for us because we have always respected the U.N. resolutions."

Burns called Ciller's remarks "an important statement because it reflects the fact the United States and Turkey have an identity of views pertaining to the situation in northern Iraq."

"The United States strongly believes -- and Turkey concurs -- that Saddam Hussein can play no useful role in northern Iraq; that neither the United States nor Turkey would support the extension of Saddam's influence in northern Iraq and in fact, that both of us hope to work to create stability in northern Iraq without Saddam Hussein's forces in play," Burns said.

The result of the meeting between Christopher and Ciller, the spokesman said, is that "Turkey and the United States firmly agree that Saddam's influence in northern Iraq should be minimized; it should not be encouraged in any way; and that, on the contrary, we ought to try to support the efforts of the Kurds and the Turkomans to provide for their own political stability."

The State Department spokesman said that Christopher, Ciller, and other top State Department officials talked about Turkey's desire to have some kind of diplomatic initiative to help the Iraqi Kurds and engage the leadership of the millions of Turkomans living in northern Iraq to take control of the situation.

"One of the prime goals of Turkish policy will be to bring (Massoud) Barzani and the Turkomans together so that together they might fill the security void, the vacuum in northern Iraq," Burns said. "Of course, the United States wants to work with Turkey, with Mr. Barzani, and with Turkomans for stability."

Christopher agreed that it was very important for Turkey and the United States to try to bring stability to northern Iraq, Burns said. The United States would continue to support the Turkish security zone; "our understanding is that it would be temporary in duration" according to Burns.

"The United States believes that there is no basis to work with Saddam Hussein in northern Iraq. He has shown in the past that he is completely unreliable and untrustworthy," Burns said. Christopher emphasized that point with Ciller.

The United States also has "a strong desire to work with both the Turkomans and Mr. Barzani," Burns said. "The United States hopes that Mr. Barzani and Mr. Telebani will understand sooner or later that their temporary alliances with Iraq and Iran do not make sense for them -- that they are unwise and they will not serve the interests of the Kurdish people in the long term."

"Our position is very clear: we do not believe it is wise for any country to believe that somehow one can negotiate comfortably or productively with Saddam Hussein. He has shown that his intentions in northern Iraq are quite base and hostile to the local populations there," Burns said.

The 40-minute meeting between Christopher and Ciller also covered Turkey's economic burden as a result of the Iraqi embargo; bilateral military cooperation; operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq; Cyprus; Greek- Turkish relations; and the transfer of frigates to Turkey that is being held up by the U.S. Congress.

Christopher assured Ciller that the United States understood Turkey's economic hardships caused by the economic embargo against Iraq and the need to get resolution 956 underway, which allows a limited sale of Iraqi oil for humanitarian purposes, Burns said.

The United States is "quite sensitive" to Turkey's shouldering a greater economic burden than others because of the Gulf War and economic sanctions against Iraq, the spokesman said. "The Secretary reaffirmed to her that the United States does want U.N. resolution 956 to go forward, but obviously now we have got to work to resolve some of the practical problems that ... led (U.N. Secretary General) Boutros-Ghali to suspend it at least for the time being."

The recent developments in northern Iraq necessitated the reworking of the distribution plan for northern Iraq, Burns said. But he added that the United States "is not going to hold up (the oil sale/supply distribution plan) forever."

"It was an excellent meeting and the most important issue -- Iraq -- I think, (shows) we have a uniformity of views between the United States and Turkey (and) a very solid relationship between the United States and Turkey, and this meeting demonstrated that," Burns said.

Christopher also indicated U.S. support for Turkey's full membership in the European Union, the spokesman said. "In general we have been a great supporter of Turkey's economic connection to the West with the European Union ... and we share Mrs. Ciller's vision that Turkey needs to remain connected to the West in all respects -- politically, economically, and certainly through NATO," Burns said.

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