Anadolu Agency
Sept 25 2004
Gul: Our Relations With The United States Cannot Be Reduced To Issue
Of Iraq
NEW YORK – Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah
Gul said late on Friday, “Turkey and the United States have been
cooperating with each other on many significant issues. Therefore,
Turkey-the United States relations cannot be reduced to the issue of
Iraq.“
Holding a news conference, Gul, who is currently in New York to
attend the 59th session of the United Nations, said, “as you know, I
met U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. It was a very constructive
meeting. We agreed to call each other whenever it its necessary to
resolve the issues immediately. Turkey and the United States have
been allies for a long time.“
“Turkey and the United States have been cooperating with each other
on many significant issues. First of all, the two countries have been
defending the same values of democracy, human rights and free market
economy. Therefore, Turkey-the United States relations cannot be
reduced to the issue of Iraq. The cooperation between Turkey and the
United States has spread to a vast area from Afghanistan to the
Balkans, from energy to fight against terrorism. It cannot be
considered only a military cooperation,“ he said.
Gul said that the Cyprus issue, the terrorist organization of PKK and
Turkey`s uneasiness about developments in Kirkuk city of Iraq were
high on agenda of his meeting with Powell.
Referring to his meetings with other officials, Gul recalled that he
had held talks with foreign ministers of Nigeria, Singapore, Russia
and Azerbaijan and with deputy prime minister of Bahrain.
“During the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, we
discussed the postponed state visit of Russian President Vladimir
Putin to Turkey due to the school siege in Beslan. Russian officials
will set a new date and inform us on the developments,“ he said.
Gul noted that he was scheduled to meet his Armenian and Chinese
counterparts on Monday.