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    "title": "Statements by the President, Thomas E. Morgan, and Clement J. Zablocki, following Breakfast Meeting on Turkish Aid [Press Conference]",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 13 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nJULY 9, 1975\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nSTATEMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT,\nTHOMAS E. MORGAN\nREPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA\nAND\nCLEMENT J. ZABLOCKI\nREPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN\nFOLLOWING THE BREAKFAST MEETING\nWITH CONGRESSMEN ON TURKISH AID\nTHE WEST DRIVEWAY\n9:37 A.M. EDT\nTHE PRESIDENT: This morning we had an hour and\na half breakfast, a working meeting with a number of the\nMembers of the House Committee on International Relations;\nthe Chairman, Doc Morgan; the Chairman of the subcommittee,\nCongressman Zablocki, and the ranking Republican on the\nfull committee, concerning an effort to try and resolve\nthe legislative problem of Turkish military aid.\nThe Administration, of course, has asked for a\ntotal removal of the ban, but we have worked with the\nDemocratic Chairman and the other Members of the committee\non a compromise that will be before the committee\ntomorrow.\nI just want to thank Chairman Morgan and his\nassociates on both sides of the aisle for taking the\ninitiative in seeking what we believe is a fair and\nequitable solution.\nQUESTION: What is the compromise, sir?\nCONGRESSMAN MORGAN: The compromise -- we will\nstart out tomorrow, hold hearings on the Mansfield-Scott\nresolution, and we hope to complete hearings tomorrow.\nWe will have the Administration witnesses in the morning\nand, of course, the Greek witnesses in the afternoon in\nthe open hearing.\nOn Friday, we hope to start the mark-up. We\nwill start the mark-up using the Senate resolution and\nsubstitute the bill worked out by Mr. Zablocki and Congress-\nman Fascell and Congressman Hamilton and Congressman\nBroomfield. We hope we can report that out sometime on\nFriday.\nMORE\nPage 2\nThe substitute really opens up the pipeline\non what Turkey has bought and paid for, plus it resumes\nthe rights of Turkey to make cash sales in the military\nforeign sales program.\nThere is no grant military assistance plus\na complete study for future military and economic aid,\nboth to Greece and Turkey. There is a clause, some\nsafety clauses in that that the President doesn't like.\nThe President has to report to Congress every 60 days\non the progress of the sales and the progress, of\ncourse, of settling the Cyprus dispute.\nI think it is a fair compromise. I think we\ncan sell it to the House. Those who supported the total\nembargo last December, when we appropriated the foreign\naid bill, can vote for this and explain it to the Greek-\nAmerican people of this country.\nQUESTION: Congressman Morgan, will there be\naction in the House by the 1st of August?\nCONGRESSMAN MORGAN: I hope to have action if\nwe can move as rapidly as we can to get it out of the\ncommittee Friday or the early part of the next week and\nimmediately apply for a rule.\nQUESTION: How much money is involved? How\nmuch equipment? Is it millions of dollars in the pipeline?\nTHE PRESIDENT: I understand that there is\napproximately $70 million of Turkish military purchases\nwhich they bought and paid for that are not delivered\nbecause of the embargo. Unfortunately, they have not only\nbought and paid for this equipment, but they are being\ncharged storage in the warehouses in the United States.\nThe compromise that Dr. Morgan and the others\nhave worked on would free those Turkish purchases,\namounting to roughly $70 million, and add to that the\nright of the Turkish Government to buy for cash additional\nmilitary hardware.\nQUESTION: How much?\nTHE PRESIDENT: That is, I think, limited by\nthe overall limitation on foreign military sales.\nCONGRESSMAN MORGAN: It would depend on how\nmuch military sales worldwide have been purchased. You\ncouldn't determine the figure.\nMORE\nPage 3\nQUESTION: How is the Cyprus compromise coming\nalong? I mean, is there any progress in the negotiations?\nTHE PRESIDENT: There is a meeting between\nDenktash and Clerides scheduled for July 24, and if there\nis action in the Congress, it will, I believe, greatly\nfacilitate the negotiations between these two leaders of\nthe Turkish and Greek Cypriots, so we are hoping\nthat there can be action. If there is action in the\nCongress, then the prospects for movement are certainly\nimproved tremendously.\nQUESTION: Mr. President, there was a quote on\none of the broadcasts this morning saying Congressman\nBrademas thought some of your meetings involved some arm\ntwisting, like this meeting this morning. Have you been\narm twisting on this subject?\nTHE PRESIDENT: No, I would say just the\nopposite. I should add that in the last two or three weeks,\nI and Secretary Kissinger have met with Congressman\nBrademas, Congressman Sarbanes and Congressman Rosenthal,\nplus Congressman Hamilton, Fascell, Zablocki, Broomfield\nand Whalen and maybe one or two others, in trying to\nget a dialogue started so that we could find the areas\nof agreement and the areas of compromise, and out of those\nmeetings, I think, has come this compromise.\nQUESTION: Mr. President, what does this compro-\nmise do to the problem of the law that says that our\nallies are not to use American weapons against their\nfriends and allies?\nCONGRESSMAN ZABLOCKI: The compromise very\nclearly states that any additional military aid that will\nbe sold to Turkey may not be used for other purposes than\nNATO defense.\nQUESTION: Didn't he law state that from the\nbeginning, though?\nCONGRESSMAN ZABLOCKI: The compromise does not\ndeal with any matter that has taken place in the past.\nIt is restating the law for future use.\nQUESTION: How will that be policed?\nTHE PRESIDENT: We, of course, have U.S.\nmilitary personnel in the various NATO countries, and they\nfollow on the scene the end use of the equipment.\nMORE\nPage 4\nQUESTION: Mr. President, are we prepared to\ntalk about renegotiating the bases in Turkey now?\nTHE PRESIDENT: That is another matter of major\nimportance. Roughly 30 days ago the Turkish Government\nindicated to us formally that they wanted to begin talks\nfor the termination of some of our U.S. bases in Turkey,\nand the deadline for that is July 17.\nWe again hope that there can be some action in\nthe committee and hopefully on the floor of the House of\nRepresentatives prior to that date so that we can say\nto the Turks that progress is being made, and if there is\nprogress, then we are in a better position to talk with\nthem without any adverse developments as to those highly\nimportant military installations in Turkey.\nQUESTION: Do you think Turkey will accept\nthis, the compromise?\nTHE PRESIDENT: We think it is a good compromise,\nand we will do our utmost in the Executive Branch to\nconvince the Turks that it is a solution that will lead\nto the settlement of the Cyprus problem and to the contin-\nuation of Turkey as a strong and effective partner in\nNATO, plus the good bilateral relations that Turkey and\nthe United States have had in the past.\nQUESTION: Mr. President, what can you tell\nus about the developments in the Helsinki Conference?\nTHE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Laughter)\nTHE PRESS: Thank you, gentlemen.\nEND (AT 9:45 A.M. EDT)"
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