Mullen seeks Turkey’s help on Iran, urges extension of Afghan troop command

Turkey voted against US-backed sanctions on Iran in June, insisting that its neighbor’s nuclear program is peaceful, despite fears that Tehran might be seeking to develop nuclear arms.

Turkey has, however, stated that it will abide by the sanctions.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Saturday in the Turkish capital that he did not plan to “question or rebut” Turkey over the vote and welcomed Turkey’s stated intention to abide by those sanctions.

“I did not come here to question or in any way rebut Turkey’s decision not to support United Nations sanctions against Iran,” Mullen said. “I note with gratitude your government’s stated intent to enforce those sanctions,” he said.

“The mutual goal of Iran not achieving a nuclear-weapons capability, that we completely agree on, we just need to reinforce,” Mullen, President Barack Obama’s top military adviser, said. Both countries need to “do all we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

The UN approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in early June over accusations that Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies its nuclear program is militaristic in nature and says it has a right to conduct uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes. Washington and other powers accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon.

Mullen arrived in Ankara on Friday to meet with his new Turkish counterpart, Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner, who took office on Aug. 27. He also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül. No statements were released after those meetings.

Mullen praised Turkey for its role in Afghanistan and said the United States would welcome any additional help it can provide. Turkey currently holds the rotating command of the international peacekeeping force guarding the Afghan capital, while Turkish instructors are training the Afghan army and police force. Turkey’s command will expire in early November.

“We would like to see Turkey sustain all of those efforts because they’ve been so important in Afghanistan and also because of the critical time in which we find ourselves in Afghanistan right now,” Mullen said. “Any additional capabilities that Turkey can provide against the training shortfall, that would certainly be of great help,” he added.

The US military chief also made clear that Washington has no plans to withdraw its weapons from Iraq through Turkey, though the US military has sought Turkish permission to transport some noncombat equipment from Iraq through its territory. Mullen said the US does not expect to use Turkish land routes to remove weapons when the last American forces leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

“We do not transport weapons through Turkey, nor do we plan to in the future,” Mullen said. “Reports or suggestions to the contrary are simply false and completely without merit.”

Turkey has said it looks favorably on the passage of such equipment and technical material, but not arms, which would require Parliament approval.

In 2003, Turkey refused to allow US forces to use its territory to invade Iraq.

The US needs the backing of Turkey’s military, which includes one of the world’s largest standing armies, as a critical player in the Middle East and Central Asia and as a member of NATO. Turkey shares a border with Iraq and Iran and has about 1,800 troops in Afghanistan.

Mullen also recalled that NATO is discussing locations for a potential missile-defense system of radar and interceptors, though he did not specifically address the plan with Koşaner.

“The membership of NATO believes that having a missile-defense architecture is a very important capability that needs to be put in place and evolve over time,” Mullen said. “There have been discussions with several members of NATO -- to include Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania -- in terms of parts of this.”