Powell Arrives in Ankara for Talks on Iraq with Turkish Officials

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 02, 2003

Powell Arrives in Ankara for Talks on Iraq with Turkish Officials

US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Turkey Tuesday night on a fence-mending mission to underline Washington's commitment to the strategic partnership between the two countries.

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US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Turkey Tuesday night on a fence-mending mission to underline Washington's commitment to the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Relations between the United States and Turkey have recently deteriorated since the Turkish parliament on March 1 narrowly rejected US plans to deploy 62,000 troops in Turkey to open a northern front in the war on Iraq.

Powell's unexpected visit comes after the US and British coalition forces met with a serious resistance of the Iraqi forces in southern Iraq.

During Powell's stay in Ankara, issues such as deployment of US soldiers in Turkey, dispatch of US soldiers to northern Iraq via Turkey and use of Turkey's airbases for air strikes against Iraq were expected to be on the agenda.

The Turkish parliament on March 1 rejected a government motion on allowing the deployment of 62,000 US troops in Turkey for opening the northern front in the war against Iraq.

On Powell's visit, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said onMonday that the United States could make new requests, but he did not disclose the content of the requests.

The US Administration, disappointed over the developments in thesouthern front in Iraq, decided to send Powell to Turkey in order to improve relations and garner more support for the Iraq war whichhas entered the 13th day since its outbreak on March 20.

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