ANKARA (Turkish Daily News)–The Foreign Ministry released a statement Monday highlighting US credits to Turkey. According to the press release–the United States would extend $175 million in Foreign Military Financing and $50 million in Economic Support Fund aid.
Following negotiations in the US Congress–the Senate accepted the credit recommendations in their original form–but the House of Representatives–under pressure from ethnic lobbies against Turkey–has decided to reduce ESF aid to $40 million.
Furthermore–$20 million of this aid should be used for strengthening non-governmental organizations or for people who are in need of economic help–as well as for projects which would support economic development and the solution of regional problems.
This intention on the part of the House of Representatives was seen by the Turkish government as foreign intervention in domestic affairs–according to the news release.
Due to the unacceptable conditions attached to the US aid to Turkey–the Turkish government ordered its Washington embassy not to accept the offer–and the Turkish ambassador to Washington told Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on June 26 that Turkey was refusing to accept the credits and the aid.
In order to eliminate the differences–members of the Senate and the House of Representatives held a joint conference on Oct. 28–but this conference also adopted the credit and aid offered to Turkey in the same form that the House of Representatives had earlier stipulated.
