16 October 2004Turkey's policy on Iraq was revised during an "Iraq Summit" held last evening at the Prime Ministry. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Chief of General Staff Hilmi Ozkok, Second Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug, Private Representative to Iraq Osman Koruturk, and officials from the Turkish National Intelligence Services (MIT) Under Secretariat participated in the meeting.
The _expression "top level evaluation" was used to describe the meeting in a statement from the Prime Ministry. Topics such as the uncertainty over the elections in Iraq, uneasiness about the census in Kerkuk (Kirkuk), the activities of the Kurdish Workers' Party and the Kurdish People's Party (PKK/KONGRA-GEL), the Turkish truck drivers under threat, and the revision of policies on Iraq were discussed in detail.
Though a detailed statement was not released, a new position was reportedly determined in response to negative developments in Iraq. No information about precautionary measures was given in the statement but it was clear that the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued a directive to state institutions to be in close cooperation.
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