statements by U.S. Officials
Peter W. Rodman
Assistant Secretary For Defense
For International Security Affairs
Press Roundtable
December 14, 2006
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: …Let the people in Turkey know a little about the cooperation we have with the TGS. This is the twentieth meeting of the High Level Defense Group. And it is an annual event. We alternate location and for a few years it was interrupted. At the beginning of this decade because of, I guess, our…some of our preoccupations, but we were delighted that last year we resumed it, and now it is on a regular track every year.
One of the good things we talked about today and yesterday is that, I think, we are setting up some mechanisms so that our military can meet in between these annual meetings. Our cooperation is so intense that it’s not something that happens you know once a year, but it should be continuing because we share….well, first of all let me explain the purposes of these meetings. We have strategic discussions and we talk about the region. And Turkey explains its perspective on this region and then we give our perspectives. And that’s very useful to share strategic perceptions. And we confirm that there is a lot of overlap and we have common interests. We have some differences of view, but a lot of common interests. The second thing is that we talk about a lot of practical issues like equipment and training or exercises or things that our militaries are doing together. And there are always issues that people want to discuss and these meetings are a way to solve some of these problems, because I have a team of experts that comes with me, and we meet with the key experts on the Turkish side. And third, there are sometimes new ideas, new initiatives that one side or the other will propose, either procedures or things that we can cooperate on. So the relationship doesn’t stand still. That’s very good.
But the last thing I’ll say is that I thought that the tone and the substance were excellent. And I don’t speak for the Turkish side, but certainly on our side I think we came away with the sense that there really are important common interests. It is a turbulent part of the world, but the alliance has a very firm foundation of common interests. And secondly on the personal level, I thought that it was just easy, good… we were received very warmly and graciously and we appreciate that, and it makes… you know I think the good personal connection makes it easy to discuss issues and problems. And I think both sides are very open with each other, and we talk candidly about concerns we have or disagreements. It was a conversation between friends and allies. And I think… actually I should add from the American point of view we want to be a reliable ally of Turkey. This is a turbulent part of the world, a complicated part of the world. But there are many things happening in this region and we value Turkey as an ally. We admire the contribution that Turkey makes to stability in this part of the world. And I think we want to show that we can be a good friend of Turkey and try to address Turkish concerns as much as we can. The PKK is one example. You know General Ralston’s mission. I’m not involved in that but I certainly all of us on the American side want that mission to succeed for many reasons. But I’m happy to stop there and take some questions.
QUESTION: Evren Mesci from Sabah. Would you please specify the purposes of this twentieth meeting? Can we have your comments on the Iraq Study Group, especially Pentagon’s perspective?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: Ok. On the first part I would say that we… as I mentioned we talked about technical issues like equipment and training exercises and the technical cooperation that goes on all the time between our two militaries. We also had strategic discussions about the situation in the region and there were briefings by both sides on their perspective on the politics of the region and Iraq situation or the Iran situation or other problems, and just exchanging views on the current situation.
The Iraq Study Group was a private advisory committee and our President will… I think he will announce in a few weeks’ time his own conclusions based on first of all, the Iraq Study Group and also an internal review…a very intense internal review of Iraq policy that included all of the departments of the American Government. In addition, our President will have the benefit of a lot of consultations we’ve had with the Iraqi leaders and also our friends in this area. I have been participating in the internal review myself. And I certainly cannot predict what our President will ultimately decide, but I’m very confident that he will agree with some of the elements in the Iraq Study Group, in particular the stress on the unity of Iraq. I think the unity of Iraq and the territorial integrity of Iraq will remain a cardinal principle of American policy. And I think our President is not looking for ways to withdraw from Iraq. I think our president is looking for more effective ways of accomplishing the objective of helping the Iraqis build their institutions and protect their own security and stability. So I think the president will agree with some things in the report, maybe disagree with other things. I would mention also, that I know there is a positive reference to the importance of Turkey in that report, and I am sure that the President will agree with that proposition. But I’m sure our President wants to help the Iraqis produce a stable outcome, because the strategic importance of that is enormous for the whole region. It’s essential that Iraq be able to govern itself and maintain its own security and not be a haven for terrorists that threaten anyone and I’m confident that that objective will not change.
QUESTION: Gulsen Solaker from AA. I have two questions. First of all, has the PKK issue brought up in your meetings? And second question is: do Turkey and the United States have a common vision with regard to Iran?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: The PKK was certainly discussed. The Turkish side made clear its view and I think there is a common view of our two governments that terrorist organizations should not be allowed to threaten Turkey. But we have a channel for dealing with this issue. It is not the High Level Defense Group, it’s the mission of General Ralston. I can say that President Bush and the entire US Government strongly support the mission of General Ralston and we want it to produce concrete results. Iran was the subject of a lot of conversation between us. Turkey, of course, has diplomatic relations with Tehran and we do not. So there are some differences in approach, but we agree on many things. And I think both sides agree very strongly that an Iranian nuclear weapon program is a very bad thing for the region. And both sides support the diplomatic efforts that are going on to try to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon.
QUESTION: Conxita Isik from ANKA. About the Iraq Study Group report, I believe also the issue…Kirkuk is also mentioned in this report and also the report calls for decreasing the authorities of local governments in the area. So has these issues been brought up in your meetings? Also, will the President Bush support these suggestions?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: In our meetings, I think we have a good understanding of Turkey’s interests and Turkey’s positions with respect to Kirkuk. And on the American side we understand the sensitivity of this issue. And it is a very important issue that we hope the Iraqis will address in a constructive way that contributes to good relations with Turkey. And I think these are issues that the Iraqis will have to decide ultimately, but I think the friends of Iraq understand that there are some wider ramifications of how these issues are dealt with. Again, our President will formulate his own policies at the appropriate time.
QUESTION: Mahmut Gurer from Cumhuriyet. You mentioned General Ralston’s work and that you hope to have some concrete results within a month.
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: I didn’t say… I didn’t give a time.
QUESTION: What kind of concrete results are you referring to?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: I think we know that Turkey doesn’t want to have abstract intellectual discussions. I think all of us want some practical results that put terrorist organizations out of business and that reassure Turkey of its security and that contribute to good relations between Turkey and Iraq. And I will leave it to General Ralston to address the specifics. I don’t want to get into details here.
QUESTION: Mahmut Bulut from Turkiye. You mentioned military exercises …between two countries. We have seen similar exercises in the recent years. Are you planning to hold such an exercise next year? The second question is the new Secretary of Defense has talked about Turkey and mentioned that the US has ignored Turkey so far, has failed to take Turkey’s issues seriously. We know what Turkish issues are. These are PKK, Cyprus… We have some economic challenges as well. So with the new Secretary of Defense, can we say that we will see a new policy towards…about Turkey?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: On the first question, I don’t want to get into details but it is normal for allied militaries to do a lot of things together and this should be seen as routine and a healthy way to continue cooperation. On the second question, you’re right. Mr. Gates in his public hearing, he said that Turkey is underappreciated. I think that was the word he used. Not appreciated enough. But Mr. Rumsfeld was a friend of Turkey and our whole government is a friend of Turkey. So I don’t think this is a change of policy. It should be a reassurance to our Turkish friends that our leadership correctly appreciates the importance of Turkey as an ally.
QUESTION: Hilal Koylu from Radikal. As you know, there have been some disagreements between Bush Administration and AKP Government in Turkey over Iraq policies of the United States. Erdogan has recently called for a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. But Bush Administration… it seems that the Bush Administration will not take any steps in the near future about that. So has this issue been brought up in your High Level Defense Group meetings? Have you talked about your new Iraq policy? What kind of cooperation do you foresee between Turkey and US about that?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: First of all, our President has not yet reached his conclusions about a new approach to Iraq policy. So in that respect we didn’t discuss these details in the High Level Defense Group, but we did talk in general terms. Turkey explained what its concerns are about the future of Iraq and I did my best to explain what American policy is. And I think it is healthy to us to know of Turkey’s concerns and I think that… I don’t speak for the Turkish side, but Turkey made clear its concerns about the situation in the north of Iraq and the PKK problem. And I was able to reassure my Turkish colleagues that we are committed - as I said before - committed to the success of the Ralston mission and we want the Turkish-Iraqi border to be a border of peace and the two countries to be allies or good friends. And as I said before the unity of Iraq is a basic principle for American policy.
QUESTION: Barkin Isik from Milliyet. As you know after September 11th attacks US has changed the FMS purchases and introduced golden sentry system and about F 16 purchases Turkey wants you to ease on this new purchases, the conditions of the purchases, have you also discussed about that?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: I think our experts did talk about F16 purchases, but I’m not sure I understand the question. And I think the Minister of Defense made some announcements yesterday about it. We had resolved some problems… I think the discussions resolved some problems that existed. I’m not sure of the details myself.
QUESTION: For security reasons US Government has toughened the terms of FMS agreements. So Turkey wants the US Government to ease up on those.
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: …with experts here. And I think either to explain our procedures or to find creative ways to solve problems. But I don’t know the answer to the question. I believe they made some progress on this, but I’m not sure I understand the question.
AMBASSADOR WILSON: Maybe we can get you some other information for you. One last question?
QUESTION: Meltem Sabah from Yeni Safak. In the process of developing the new Iraq policy, will the United States make a demand from Turkey, any kind of demand?
ASSIST. SEC. RODMAN: No, I think we want advice from our friends and we value advice from our friends. And I think the best thing that could happen would be the right outcome of the Ralston mission. And that requires efforts from Turkey, from America, and from the Iraqis to produce a good result to the Ralston mission, but no, we don’t come here to make demands, we come here to try to solve problems. I know that’s the purpose of the Ralston mission. Thank you very much.