Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever writes on US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s weekend visit to Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:
“US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Ankara over the weekend. I’ve no idea what Rice and our side talked about behind closed doors, but I can comment on what she said publicly, including what she was reluctant to talk about. Let’s look at some of Rice’s key points:
1) The US need not directly react to Turkey’s demands concerning the terrorist PKK and Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
2) Washington, Ankara and the new Iraqi administration must assume a united stance against terrorism. (This means that Ankara should establish good relations with the new Iraqi government.)
3) When Washington talks about ‘fighting terrorism,’ Ankara should understand that this mainly refers to Iran and Syria’s support for terrorism, as well as Al Qaeda and Palestinian terrorist groups. (This means that although the US recognizes the PKK as a terrorist group, it won’t consider it a separate issue to deal with.)
4) Protecting Iraq’s territorial integrity is in the US’ interest.
5) The Iraqi administration will be shaped by the Iraqi Constitution.
6) The Iraqi nation will decide what will happen to Kirkuk.
7) The US has no immediate plans to attack Iran. However, the possibility of such an attack is on Bush’s agenda.
There is no concrete economic plan for the Turkish Cypriots.
9) Washington felt let down with by Ankara’s refusal to permit the deployment of American troops at Incirlik Airbase. (Rice implied that it was Turkey which had pushed the US to a closer embrace of Kurdish groups)
10) Despite this disappointment, Washington still supports Turkey’s EU membership bid and its relations with the IMF. (This means the US is a forgiving country. ‘However, you must always bear in your mind that without our support, your relations with the EU and IMF wouldn’t go well.’)
‘Turkey must back our radical Middle East policy,’ Rice stressed succinctly. ‘Otherwise, there is no way for Ankara to ensure US support on the issues of northern Iraq, Kirkuk, Cyprus, EU and even the IMF.’
May God help our government in the years to come!”
