Gul: "Iraq’s success will be our collective success"

"We have been supporting all kinds of efforts to this end. Our efforts should concentrate to resume peace talks between Israel and Palestine. The parties should fulfil criteria cited in the Road Map. Meanwhile, acts of terrorism targeting Israeli people should come to an end. In the same way, intentional destruction of lives and properties of Palestinian people should be ended. Palestinian should be encouraged in their reform process. Propagation of Israel’s settlements should stop. Also, Palestinian people’s living standards should be improved," he emphasized.

IRAQ

Gul said, "we believe that a solution will not be reached (in Iraq) unless a progress is made on all issues, including Syria and Lebanon. We appreciate political efforts of the United States and the international community to rebuild Iraq."

"However, humanitarian, political and security problems of the Iraqi people have still been continuing. I also want to stress that developments in Iraq also affects negatively Turkey as a neighboring country. The transition period in Iraq does not matter only the Iraqi people. It concerns the whole region and the peace and prosperity in the world. Turkey has been defending from the very beginning that Iraq’s territorial integrity and political unity should be preserved. It will be achieved only with equal participation (in the administration) of all sections of the Iraqi population . An increase of the United Nations’ influence will facilitate it. Iraq’s success will be our collective success, and its failure will be our collective failure. Turkey will continue supporting the Iraqi governing council’s efforts to normalize the situation and establish democracy in the country," he said.

AFGHANISTAN

Noting that Turkey would maintain its traditional support to the Afghan people, Gul said, "it is among our urgent duties to provide security and stability, and to establish a democratic system in Afghanistan. Afghanistan should be defended against terrorism, extremism and illicit drug trafficking. We believe that the upcoming elections in Afghanistan would be of great importance to this end."

"Everyone accepts that terrorism does not have any legitimacy. Terrorism cannot represent a religious belief, a nation or a case. Massacre of innocent people anywhere in the world is a crime against humanity. We strongly condemn all kinds of acts of terrorism. As a country which suffered much from terrorism, Turkey has always called on all countries to cooperate with others to fight against terrorism," he underlined.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

"Turkey believes that control over weapons of mass destruction and on ways and means to sell them should be further strengthened. Also, creation of regions free of nuclear weapons in the world, including the Middle East, is an important means to consolidate peace and security. Turkey is determined to expend all kinds of efforts to maintain peace and stability both in its region and in the world. We will use our multi-dimensional ties and deep relations to reach this target," Gul added.