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Turkey, Syria Concerned About Iraq's Territorial Integrity
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Sezer,
right, and Assad listen to their national anthems before talks
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ANKARA,
January 7 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Turkey and Syria
issued a joint warning on Tuesday, January 6, over moves that could
damage the territorial integrity of post-war Iraq during a landmark
visit here by Syria's Bashar Al-Assad, the first official trip by a
Syrian head of state to the country.
"We
agreed that it is a must to protect Iraq's territorial integrity... We
condemned approaches that could endanger Iraq's territorial
integrity," Assad, seeking to cultivate better relations with
Turkey after decades of frostiness and a near war, said following talks
with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
Both
countries are worried that the Iraqi Kurds could capitalize on their
war-time alliance with the United States to push for autonomy in their
homeland in northern Iraq and set an example for their kinsmen in
neighboring Turkey and Syria, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Sezer
echoed Assad's call to protect Iraq's unity, adding that stability
should be restored in the increasingly turbulent country as soon as
possible.
"Turkey
and Syria, as regional countries neighboring Iraq, are determined to
efficiently pursue these objectives," he said.
In
an interview with CNN Turk television Monday, January 5, Assad said
building any Kurdish or other ethnic entity in Iraq would cross a
"red line" for all Iraq's neighbors.
Assad
seized his landmark visit to issue fresh calls for a Middle East free of
weapons of mass destruction.
He
said Ankara -- which has close ties with nuclear power Israel as well as
the United States -- had backed his appeals, Reuters news agency said.
"I
see that the Turkish side is looking warmly on this, and embraces it in
principle," Assad told reporters.
Turkish
officials declined to comment on his remarks, but said Ankara agreed a
Middle East free of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons would be a
good thing.
In
a Monday interview with the British daily The Telegraph, Assad
said that his country had
every right to acquire deterrent weapons as long as Israel was
adamant about scrapping its undeclared and increasingly growing nuclear
arsenal.
Rebuilding
Trust
Assad's
three-day visit was designed to fan a spark of cooperation kindled last
November when Syria handed over 22 people suspected of involvement in a
wave of deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul.
"We
have moved together from an atmosphere of distrust to one of trust. We
must create stability from a regional atmosphere of instability,"
Reuters quoted Assad as saying.
Turkish
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer echoed the Syrian leader's concern over the
region.
"No
time can be lost in replacing the atmosphere of enmity, distrust and
instability which unfortunately prevails in our region with one of
peace, stability and prosperity," Sezer said.
Assad
brought his wife, baby daughter and toddler son on the trip.
The
two leaders witnessed the signing of three accords aimed at preventing
double taxation in bilateral trade, encouraging mutual investments and
cooperation in the tourism sector.
Two-way
trade between Turkey and Syria amounted to about one billion dollars
[800 million euros] last year.
Vital
Importance
Turkish
dailies said that the visit carries a vital importance for Turkey at a
critical time as both countries could be partners not only in regional
security issues, but also in foreign closer ties with the European
Union.
Mass-circulation
Cumhuriyet said that the two countries, both with sizeable
Kurdish populations, should present a united front to Kurdish leaders
Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, reported the BBC News Online.
"The
new establishment in Iraq forces Turkey and Syria to strive for a much
closer relationship against the separatist and expansionist Barzani and
Talabani, who are a common threat to both countries," the daily
says.
Another
Turkish paper, Yeni Safak, also focuses on common security fears.
"After
the Iraqi occupation, the U.S.-British-Israeli plans vis-a-vis the
region make not only Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iran worried,"
the paper believes.
"Turkey
is also getting worried," it says, adding that "the
uncertainty about the future of Iraq has especially shaken Ankara's
trust in the U.S."
Relations
between Ankara and Damascus have been chilly for decades due to disputes
over territory, shared water resources and Syria's long-time tacit
support for Kurdish separatists fighting in southeastern Turkey.
The
two countries came to the brink of war in 1998, before Damascus expelled
Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Syria
expelled Ocalan from his long-time safe haven and pledged to stop
supporting his rebels under a security deal it signed with Turkey.
Turkey,
a close Muslim ally of the United States and a NATO member, has pushed
for closer ties with Syria since the U.S. invasion of Iraq despite
warnings from Washington that its cooperation with Damascus should be
limited.
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