Britain pledges to guard Iraq supply routes
Foreign secretary David Milband today said Britain would continue to guard supply routes in Iraq despite the British forces’ move out of the southern city of Basra.
Some US officials have criticised Britain’s decision to leave Iraq’s second largest city, raising concerns about the security of supply routes to Baghdad and Britain’s long-term commitment to the war.
“British troops will continue to play an important role in guarding the supply routes and in supporting the Iraqi security forces in the future,” Mr Miliband said at a news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan.
“We have a clear objective of supporting the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces in establishing their own control so that Iraq is run by the Iraqis,” he said.
Mr Miliband is the first foreign dignitary to visit since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan formed a new government last week and former foreign minister Abdullah Gul was elected president last month.
Gul’s initial bid for president was blocked over fears the former Islamist politician planned to dilute secular traditions.
His eventual election in a parliamentary vote came after the military, which has ousted four governments since 1960, warned of threats to secularism.
“I’m sure I speak for all of my European colleagues in saying we are 100 percent behind the democratic processes and decision-making in Turkey,” he said.
Mr Miliband pledged the British government’s continued support for Turkey’s bid for European Union membership.
“The (Tony) Blair government for the past 10 years was a leading champion of Turkey’s role in the international community,” Miliband said. “It is the absolute determination of the new government led by Gordon Brown, that we will continue to play that role in collaboration with the government of Turkey.”
“Shared institutions matter a lot. And we want the European Union to be a shared institution of which Britain and Turkey are full and equal members,” he said.
Turkey began membership negotiations in October 2005, but progress came to a virtual standstill late last year when EU leaders decided to partially suspend negotiations to protest Ankara’s refusal to open its ports to trade with EU member Cyprus.
Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south – represented by the internationally recognised government – and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after a failed Athens-backed coup by supporters of union with Greece.
