"Turkey says US troops must stay in Iraq, fears vacuum
02 Mar 2006 11:10:33 GMT
Source: Reuters
ANKARA, March 2 (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday U.S. troops should not quit neighbouring Iraq prematurely, but denied media reports suggesting he feared such a withdrawal might help Iran stir up militancy in the region.
'The Iraqis should be able to administer themselves, but we say the withdrawal of coalition forces before these things can happen would cause a vacuum, a gap,' Abdullah Gul told reporters in televised remarks."
More:Reuters AlertNet - Turkey says US troops must stay in Iraq, fears vacuum
