Turkey insists no deal with US on use of İncirlik

A US Airforce plane lands at the İncirlik airbase in southern Turkey in this Aug. 31, 2013 photo. (Photo: AP)

October 14, 2014, Tuesday/ 17:48:38/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ANKARA

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has confirmed that Turkey and the US have not reached an agreement to grant further use of İncirlik Air Base to the US for military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Following a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Arınç said, “Apart from our cooperation on combatting terrorism, there is no new situation with regard to İncirlik.”

İncirlik Air Base in Turkey's Adana province is in close proximity to ISIL targets inside Syria and Iraq, and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said over the weekend that they had asked Turkey for basing rights in the past week. Hagel added that there appears to be some progress on the negotiations with Turkey on the extent of Turkey's contribution to the US-led coalition's efforts against ISIL.

Unnamed US defense officials claimed that Turkey has agreed to grant further access to the coalition forces. Speaking on the NBC television network's “Meet the Press” on Sunday, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice said that in the last several days Turks had “made a commitment that they will in the first instance allow the US and its partners to use Turkish bases and territory.”

Rice's remarks prompted the Prime Ministry to make a statement denying that there is a deal to grant expanded access to the US for İncirlik Air Base.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu who is in New York to lobby for Turkey's membership on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2015-2016 term, also made a statement on late Monday, saying: “No decision has been reached at this point with regard to İncirlik, or any other issue. So far, we have only agreed with the US on certain issues in the context of a training and equipping [the moderate Syrian opposition] project.”

“Our negotiations with the US and the steps and measures that we are going to take against ISIL in Syria, including the establishment of a no-fly zone and a safe zone, will continue to deepen in the coming days,” said Arınç.

Arınç also stressed that Turkey has suggested certain facilities for the project to train and equip Syrian opposition groups, but added that even those talks with the US have not been finalized.

Turkey has been pressing for the establishment of a no-fly zone and a safe zone inside Syria, but US officials have repeatedly said that these subjects are not on the table for now.

Speaking to journalists in New York, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said on Monday that Çavuşoğlu made it clear that there is no agreement and that no decision has been made on expanded access to the İncirlik Air Base.

Stressing that Çavuşoğlu said that there is consensus, especially on the training project, but many issues are still pending and the US and Turkey are discussing many issues, Bilgiç said, including the establishment of a safe zone and a no-fly zone.

During an interview on the ABC television network's “This Week” program on Sunday, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey denied that there were any immediate plans to set up a no-fly zone in Syria but said there could be “circumstances in the future where that would be part of the campaign.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry recently reiterated the American administration's official position, and said that the establishment of a no-fly zone and a safe zone in Syria are not part of their plans. But he added that the idea is “worth examining further.”

This week teams from the US Central Command and US European Command are expected to meet with Turkish officials in Ankara.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said İncirlik was already being used for reconnaissance purposes in Iraq and said its use for wider operations would depend on whether Turkey's demands for a no-fly zone and a safe zone in Syria are met.

“There are activities that we are already undertaking jointly from İncirlik, with regard to Iraq,” Davutoğlu told the Milliyet daily on Sunday.