Erdogan: Decision on Sending Peacekeepers to Lebanon out of Question

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he did not regret the decision to send Turkish troops to Lebanon, adding, "If only the March 1 resolution [to send troops to Iraq] had passed." "The ratification of the official sanction by parliament to send troops to Lebanon has been a step forward," Erdogan said.



I wish we had agreed to have troops in Iraq. We'd have an entirely a different picture than what is the case today. I'm quite clear about this, and I believe in what I'm saying. We would not have the negative picture we have today. That's what I've been arguing for. It was clear what part of Iraq would be given to our control. Where? Northern Iraq. But we agreed not to send troops there. I'm asking this question now: have we had losses even though we didn't send troops? We're right in line next to the U.S. in terms of casualties and death tolls. We've also suffered more losses than the British. Who are those we lost? The Turkish drivers, engineers, workers and so on. Anyone working over there is unavoidably caught between two lines of fire," reported CNN Turk.