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ANKARA: Turkey Approves US Demand for Incirlik Base

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  • ANKARA: Turkey Approves US Demand for Incirlik Base

    Zaman, Turkey
    April 21 2005

    Turkey Approves US Demand for Incirlik Base
    By Suleyman Kurt
    Published: Thursday 21, 2005
    zaman.com

    Turkey has approved a US demand to use the Incirlik Air Base as a
    "logistic hub" for humanitarian operations.

    A decree responding to the US demand will signed by the Turkish
    Cabinet Council to extend the period of a "secret" decree dated 23
    June 2003 for one more year for the second time. It will not be
    published in the Official Gazette like the former decision. Opponents
    of the secret decree claimed that it was illegal. If the Cabinet
    approves it, the US will use the Incirlik Base as the logistic hub
    for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in a speech at Esenboga
    Airport before his departure for Lithuania yesterday (April 20) said
    that the process is underway: "In fact there is nothing new. What we
    have done is to make things more regular. It will be adopted as the
    extension of former decrees as there are no new dimensions to be
    considered. I think that the process will be completed soon."
    Although both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Gul have
    explicitly expressed that there was no link between the Armenian
    genocide allegations and the Incirlik Base decision, it has drawn
    attention that the decree has been approved before April 24. The US
    asked Turkey to use the Incirlik Base comprehensively in May 2004
    with demands beyond those in the recently approved framework. The
    previous demands were to use the base for other regional countries
    beside Iraq and Afghanistan and for military purposes. The agreement
    reached today was gained after months of negotiations between the two
    countries.
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