PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF TURKEY

25 September 1996

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF TURKEY

19960925 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

The United Nations must adapt itself to the changing times and should equip itself with the means to meet the challenges that lay ahead in the next millennium, Tansu Ciller, Foreign Minister of Turkey, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning. She said the Organization's ongoing reform process had Turkey's full support.

Explaining her country's foreign policies, she said Turkey's relations with the United States were conducted within the framework of enhanced partnership. It sought to further that partnership on a wide spectrum, particularly in the field of economic cooperation.

The realization of the customs union between Turkey and the European Union had been a major step towards Ankara's full membership in the Union. Turkey attached great importance to its relations with the Russian Federation. Bilateral cooperation and partnership in the field of the economy, trade, transportation, energy and tourism had great prospects for further development. Turkey would continue to promote its economic, commercial, social and cultural relations with Islamic countries. It was playing an important role within the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Turkey, as a democratic and secular country with a free market economy, was perceived by many as a distinctive role model combining the values of the East with the ideals and institutions of the West in a unique synthesis, the Foreign Minister said. Turkey was acting as an important bridge between the East and the West.

Asked about Turkey's policy on northern Iraq and the Turkeman issue, she said Turkey's position was being understood as the world view changed. There was need for a buffer area next to its borders and Turkey was determined to create one. That was not to say, she added, that Turkey did not respect the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Iraq. Turkey was determined to protect its borders against the daily infiltration of terrorists and the killings of its soldiers. The infiltrations needed to be stopped, and Turkey was determined to do that. She thought the international community overall had understood the Turkish position.

She said Turkey was against oppression and aggression of all kinds in its neighbourhood. The existence of about 700,000 Turkemans in northern Iraq should be recognized. There were about 3.5 million of them also in the entire

region. There was need to build a solidarity between both the Kurds and the Turkemans in running a local administration to fill the vacuum that existed in northern Iraq, she said.

She noted that that was not a violation or disrespect for the territorial integrity of Iraq -- "but we do have a reality on our hands and we need to tackle that problem". Filling the vacuum could also stop the influx of refugees to Turkey's borders. She said that view had, in general, been accepted by the international community. There was need to fight human tragedies of all kinds, be they those of the Turkemans, Kurds or other civilians in northern Iraq.

A correspondent commented that the United States and Turkey had had differences over Turkey's relations with Iran. The United States had legislation in place to punish countries that did business with Iran. There had also been a lot of criticism against Turkey over its trade links with Iran. Could the Foreign Minister give a sense of Turkey's concerns about the unilateral approach of the United States to the affairs of the region and whether it needed to work closely with allies like Turkey? Replying, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that in the wake of the recent crisis in northern Iraq, her country had acted promptly on United States requests for help to evacuate its officials. Turkey had also, at the request of the United States, helped evacuate United States citizens who lived in Iraq and who were under threat. Facilities had been provided for United States aircraft during its operations in Iraq. She said Turkey, for humanitarian reasons, had also acted promptly to help evacuate 25,000 Iraqi citizens who were working for the United States.

She said Turkey had always respected United Nations resolutions. It was the first country to call for the withdrawal of Iraqi troops when they entered the northern Iraqi town of Irbil. Turkey wanted peace and stability in the area, but there was a vacuum of authority there which was a fact and a reality. "Now, we want to act, again with our friends, in an attempt to fill that vacuum of authority which is becoming a dangerous phenomenon for all of the area, including Turkey, because we have borders in this region. It is as simple as that." She said Turkey would try to fill that vacuum of authority with the cooperation of the Turkemans and the Kurds.

As far as Iran was concerned, she said it had to be recognized that her country had suffered huge losses as a result of the Gulf crisis. "We are faced with energy cut-offs, electricity cut-offs, even in our capital." Turkey had signed a natural gas trade agreement with Iran about a year ago, she said, noting that similar agreements had been signed with Iran by Germany, Italy and others in Europe. "Why is it that when Europeans do it, it is okay, and when Turkey does it, it is not?" After suffering $27 billion losses because of the Gulf crisis, she said, energy had become a major policy issue. "It is very hard to understand, especially, when our friends here are not ready to compensate us for some of our losses, at least to a certain extent.

Turkey Press Conference - 3 - 25 September 1996

What do you expect, when we are faced with electricity shut-offs, even in our capital? This is a question I want you to answer", she told the correspondent.

Responding to further questions about Turkey's plans to create a buffer zone on its border with Iraq, Foreign Minister Ciller said Turkey had explained to all its neighbours, including Iraq, that it was "not a buffer zone but a temporary danger zone". Turkey was not against civilians living in that part of the world, but was against PKK (Kurdish opposition forces) settlements. She said the reason for the zone was that those settlements were not within but outside Turkish boundaries. The fact remained that there was a lack of authority in northern Iraq and the area had become a no-man's land. Turkey suffered as a result of that, she said. It could not continue to have its innocent people killed through infiltration of its borders. "We need to stop that. That was not to disrespect the territorial integrity or the sovereignty of Iraq. Turkey would not tolerate that kind of situation right next to its borders."

To a question about its security agreement with Israel, she said similar agreements with Israel had been signed by other countries. Turkey would also sign agreements with other countries in the years to come. The agreement with Israel was a technology transfer pact relating to defence industries. It should not be seen as a threat; it was for stability in the region and "a source of peace in the whole area".

Replying to a question about an August incident in the Turkish region of Cyprus in which a Greek Cypriot was killed trying to pull down a Turkish flag, she said that the Turkish flag was sacred. "This is the way it is and this is the way it is going to be." There was no need for escalation of the situation. She said violation of the Turkish part of the borders would not help anybody. It was fair to expect "some sort of an action" from the Turkish side if someone entered the buffer zone, climbed the flagstaff and tried to pull down the Turkish flag. She said there could have been many more incidents "of killings and of massacres on both sides" had there not been a Turkish military post in the area. "It would have been a human tragedy." She said no election should be the reason for that kind of an escalation; international matters should not be pursued for domestic political reasons, as was the case on that occasion.

Answering a question about Greek-Turkish differences over the Kurdak islands, she noted Greek suggestions that the issue should be taken to the International Court of Justice. She said Turkey had not ruled out the possibility of third-party procedures in the settlement of existing problems with Greece. She reminded the correspondent that the bilateral problems between the two countries should be treated as a whole and that the approach of a la carte choices would not be acceptable to Turkey. If Greece and the European Union were of the view that the Kurdak issue should be referred to the International Court of Justice, Greece should be equally prepared for a

Turkey Press Conference - 4 - 25 September 1996

similar referral to the same court on the problem of the militarization of eastern Aegean islands, in blatant violation of international treaties that were in force today.

Asked for Turkey's view of the recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and whether Turkish troops would stay after the withdrawal of the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR), she recalled the active Turkish involvement in the search for a solution to the conflict in the region. Turkey was happy to see the elections finally take place, recognizing that it would not solve all the problems. There were many issues to be resolved in the future, she said, adding: "Nonetheless, we feel that free elections of that kind were a step in the right direction. We will not stay in the area if United Nations troops are withdrawn. We will be part of the United Nations as a whole. This is not to say that we will not simply live up to what is expected of us in the making of peace in the area after such a withdrawal, if it is initiated or if it is seen necessary."

Could she confirm a report in the Turkish press today that the United States had asked for Turkey's assistance in evacuating 4,000 Kurds from northern Iraq, and how and when that would take place? a correspondent asked. She said that the Turkish Government had stated that for humanitarian reasons it was ready to assist in the evacuation of civilians from the region if they were under threat. The decision had been made prior to any request from the United States. No specific numbers had been given for the evacuation of the type of people referred to by the correspondent. She said Turkey's response had always been that for humanitarian reasons it would be prepared to take action if necessary, as it had done previously.

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