Babacan: "There's no decision yet whether Turkey will send more troops to Afganistan"

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met with his visiting Afghan counterpart Rengin Dadfar Spanta. "Turkey hasn't decided yet if it will send more troops to Afghanistan," Babacan told reporters after the meeting. "Turkey will make its decision clear in the days to come." He stressed that Ankara will try to strike a balance between its own fight against terrorism and how it can help the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. Babacan also said that at next month's NATO summit, a comprehensive strategy against terrorism in Afghanistan would be discussed, and Ankara would strongly support Kabul. Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday criticized Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli's proposal for constitutional changes to make it harder to close political parties. Speaking at his party's group meeting, Baykal said that the main problems facing Turkey are violations of the constitutional principle of secularism and the actions of some parties and politicians. He added that the changes proposed by Bahceli are "irregular" and that if they passed, the CHP would challenge them in court.