The leader of Turkey's governing party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won a seat in Parliament Sunday, setting the stage for his ascension to the prime minister's office and a reconsideration of a measure that would allow U.S. troops to use Turkey as a base in a war against Iraq.
Erdogan, who heads Justice and Development Party, said on Sunday that there were steps that the United States had to take regarding the issue of motion, and it would be difficult to ease the atmosphere in Turkey before the United States took those steps.
Speaking on Turkish-CNN, Erdogan said that Washington had acted hastily regarding the issue of motion which had not been adopted by the parliament, and creation of an impression in the public opinion like "talks were held under foreign exchange bargaining" had caused opposition in Turkey and also in the AK Party.
Replying a question, Erdogan said that several deputies who had voted against the motion had told him that they would vote in favor of a new motion if it was sent to the parliament.
When asked when a new motion would be sent to the parliament, Erdogan said, "it is very difficult to say something about its timing. There will be U.N. Security Council meeting and process of formation of new government in question. During this process, we will take a decision after making evaluations." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
