51 See the corresponding statements made by Benent Ecevit, including the Turkish State`s interpretation of the Washington Convention of September 1998 in Cumhuriyet, 9 October 1998 and 14 October 1998. However, Turkey reacted reluctantly to the agreement and said it would monitor its compliance and respond accordingly. Indeed, one month after the signing of the protocol, Turkish officials were dissatisfied with the slow implementation of Syria, especially the surveillance rules. It may be some time before we know whether Syria will fully meet its commitments or whether the Turkish-Syrian dynamic is due to Daniel Pipes` description of the 1987-1993 period: a "model of... Turkish threats, a ceasefire [in PKK attacks], a new round of attacks; then the Turkish threats repeat themselves and the cycle repeats itself. [1] 85 Alan Makovsky and Michael Eisenstadt, "Turkish-Syrian Relations: A Delayed Crisis? Policy Watch, No. 345, October 14, 1998, at www.washingtoninstitute.org/watch/Policywatch/policywatch1998/345.htm. In addition, the PKK is said to have invested a considerable amount of money - some of which were earned through drug trafficking - in Syrian banks, and if it tried to withdraw anything, the Syrian economy would be negatively affected. Cumhuriyet, October 22, 1998.
The agreement contained a clause stipulating that the parties "create by mutual agreement certain mechanisms so that the measures [that Syria must take against the PKK] are implemented effectively and transparently." 31 These "mechanisms," which include the establishment of a telephone number between the two countries and the appointment of two (later four- to four) for diplomatic representations of the other service, were in force within ten days of the conclusion of the agreement.32 These included the organisation of a tripartite security meeting with Lebanon on cooperation against the PKK and the establishment of a system for assessing the effectiveness of confidence-building measures, 33 the Syrian negotiating team has committed to presenting this Turkish proposal for approval from the Syrian authorities.34 This would be an on-site inspection by the Turks, which had been sensitive to Syrians from the outset.35 The Washington agreement was accompanied by a concrete promise. by which the two Kurdish leaders, with the support of the United States, would work, within the framework of a Kurdish federal administration, to the possible creation of a federal state in Iraq.