TURKEY MUST SEND TROOPS TO LEBANON

Prime Ministers Foreign Policy Advisor and a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Mr. Egemen Bagis defended that Turkey must send troops to Lebanon under UN coordination.

In an extraordinary meeting of the Assembly on 5/9/2006 with a specific agenda on the issue of sending troops to Lebanon, Mr. Bagis spoke on behalf of the leading party, while Mr. Gul, the MFA, spoke on behalf of the government.

Noting the "Pro-Active" foreign policy AK Party has been implementing for the past four years, Bagis talked about the changes Turkey had gone through with its place in the world politics. Noting the importance of Turkey in the Middle East Mr. Bagis called on the opposition party "not to be scared of Turkey's geopolitical importance and the respect this country enjoys internationally".

The Assembly then voted on the resolution to send troops to Lebanon. 341 members which constitute a majority accepted the motion.