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 You are in: Under Secretary for Political Affairs > Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs > Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Releases > Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Remarks > 2002 > September 

The United States and Turkey

A. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs
Remarks and Q&A After Meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ankara, Turkey
September 30, 2002

Assistant Secretary Jones: Good afternoon everybody. I’m very happy to be in Turkey. We’ve had very good discussions and will continue to have discussions throughout the day. Turkey is a very important country to the United States. We’ve talked a lot about the economic importance of Turkey to us. We are working very hard in Washington to support various of the economic elements of our relationship with Turkey including QIZ’s. We are very proud of our joint effort in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that’s just been inaugurated last week. We look forward very much to continue our cooperation on energy corridors through Turkey, with regard also to the Shah Deniz gas pipeline, we have been working very closely with Turkey in anticipation of the NATO Summit in Prague.

We’ve been working very closely with Turkey on ESDP in order to solve the questions pertaining to the relationship between NATO and the European Union on military issues. The strategic relationship between the United States and Turkey is very, very close. We have constantly been discussing all of those issues as they relate to Turkey’s participation in Afghanistan and leading the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. That’s also a very important part of our work. We look forward to that transfer from Turkey at the end of the year going forward very smoothly. We have been working very closely as well on all of the other strategic issues that relate to the region.

Turkey is a very important partner for the United States. And in that respect, the United States has supported very strongly Turkey’s work in support of its accession to the European Union. We think this is terribly important for Europe, its terribly important for Turkey and its terribly important for the United States. Thank you very much. I look forward very much to continuing my discussions here in Ankara.

Q: What was (inaudible) with Iraq?

Assistant Secretary Jones: With Iraq we have a very strong agreement with Turkey on the importance of implementing the Security Council resolutions of assuring a new resolution so that it is clear to Iraq that it is terribly important for the international community for Iraq to fulfill its obligations that it undertook in 1991. It is only through Iraqi compliance with the international community requirements that Turkey can fulfill its full potential on the economic side. We look very much to seeing the fulfillment of those obligations.

Q: Does the proposed Security Council resolution make any agreement talks in Vienna unacceptable, the present ongoing talks in Vienna between the weapons inspections?

Assistant Secretary Jones: The Security Council discussions are underway. The talks in Vienna are underway. And those are both fine.

Q: Turkey has some concerns especially for the compensation of the losses that might occur in case of an operation on Iraq. Have you talked about these matters in specific?

Assistant Secretary Jones: The focus is on the Security Council resolution.

Q: On the bilateral role, economic wise, what’s the state of the QIZ’s going on?

Assistant Secretary Jones: QIZ’s, we’re working very hard in Congress to get the QIZ agreed. And we look forward very much to its passage very soon.

Q: (Inaudible.)

Assistant Secretary Jones: We’ve just completed an agreement on EFF and FMF for Turkey. That’s already been done. And we look forward to continuing discussions about how that might be enhanced in the future.

Q: What is that agreement?

Assistant Secretary Jones: Well, it’s what’s been announced already, 228 million dollars in total.

Q: Ms. Jones, Iraqi side is repeating that they are going to accept the UN inspectors in that country. Is that statement satisfactory, from the point of Washington?

Assistant Secretary Jones: There is a big discussion underway in the Security Council right now on how to make sure, that not only the inspectors go back in but that disarmament actually occurs in Iraq. That’s the goal, that’s been the goal since the end of the Gulf War and that continues to be the goal. Thank you very much.


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