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Turkey Denies U.S. Deal

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has dismissed reports about an alleged deal with the United States, and said his country will not be used as a launching ground for air strikes against Syria and Iran, reports the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat.

According to recent reports from German news outlets, the U.S. had offered to permit Turkey to take out PKK bases in Iran in exchange for Turkey’s support of U.S. military strikes against Iran and Syria. These reports referred to CIA director Peter Goss’ visit to Ankara, as well as to an earlier visit from FBI director Robert Mueller. The reports also indicated that the U.S. requested that Turkey keep its armed land forces ready to back the U.S. air force against Iran.

Gul made his remarks during a visit to Egypt. He added that the two visits were planned ahead to discuss bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington. “There are no plans or talks between us and Washington concerning any military action against Syria or Iran,” said Gul. According to Arab Monitor, Turkey’s FM defined these reports as fantasy and fiction, stressing that Turkey has recently achieved significant improvements in its relations with both Iran and Syria.