Turkish PM: Gives Important Messages on N.Iraq
Erdogan said the Council in Iraq resembled the temporary administration in Afghanistan, and added, “A temporary government is not a legitimate administration which has been approved by the whole Iraqi people.”
Erdogan stressed that not sending Turkish troops to Iraq would not lessen Turkey’s operational potential in Northern Iraq.
The Prime Minister continued to say that negotiations on Iraq have not ended yet and that American officials requested from Turkey 10 to 15 days time to do so.
“Sending troops there means we are taking a risk. We will take this risk for the Iraqi people, for Iraq’s happiness,” saying Erdogan emphasized that Ankara played a key role in the United Nations Security Council decision on Iraq and that Turkey has been one the most active countries on Iraq. He said the government’s policy on the Iraq issue would be better understood in the future.
On the Cyprus issue, the Prime Minister said they thought that the Annan plan was negotiable.
“However, when you say, ‘to negotiate the Annan plan is to give Cyprus away,’ you fall into a false position in the international arena. On
the Greek side, E.U. membership is not the end of the world. But the approach of solving the Cyprus problem by saying, ‘we did it and it has
worked’, as if the two sides in Cyprus solved their problems internally, this is a risky approach.”
Erdogan also made important statements about the Republic Reception. The Prime Minister criticized President Ahmet Necdet Sezer for not
inviting Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies’ wives, who wear headscarves, to the October 29th Republic Reception.
Erdogan noted that such thing had not occurred at the Presidential residence until two years ago, and asked: “So was the Republic damaged
before that time? Was something happening there when deputies arrived with their wives? Or have we just declared the Republic?”
The Prime Minister said that the invitation issue, which was significantly occupying the agenda, bothered him.
