’Turkey is ready to assist US withdrawal’

Despite reports the United States was considering to use Turkey alongside Kuwait and Jordan for the withdrawal of its troops and equipment, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday there had been no official request of Turkey in that regard.

"We are ready to talk about possible requests on that issue," Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday during a luncheon in Istanbul organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Council. "We have to help and provide assistance," he said.

However, he avoided a question on whether a troop withdrawal from Turkey would require Parliamentary consent and said the legalities would be discussed when a request came from Washington. As to Washington’s appeal for NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, Babacan was non committal. His answer focused rather on the need to win "the hearts and minds," of the Afghan people, indicating the unwillingness of Turkey to increase its troops in the country.

Strong alliance

Answering a question on the eventual return of France into NATO’s military structure, Babacan said Turkey wanted to see a strong alliance. "We want all member countries to participate in full -- on all -- NATO activities," he said. Babacan said the details of France’s return to the alliance’s military wing were still unclear. "When the details are discussed, there will be a give and take between NATO and France.

We are ready to talk about this issue," he said. Babacan was also asked to comment on the recent decision of the European Court of Justice, which ruled against the need of visas for those Turkish citizens providing services to Europe. "Without the completion of the legal process and without seeing the legal justification behind the decision, it is too early to predict what kind of concrete implications this decision will bring," he said.