Congressional Press Releases
May 8, 2006 Monday
PENCE MEETS WITH TURKISH OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS IRAN TEN MINUTES AFTER
IRANIANS DEPART
by MIKE PENCE, REPRESENTATIVE, HOUSE
For Immediate Release
Pence Meets With Turkish Officials To Discuss Iran Ten Minutes After
Iranians Depart
Contact: Matt Lloyd (202) 226-4379
May 8, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Mike Pence, a member of the House
International Relations Committee, on a Congressional Delegation trip
to the Middle East, met with the Foreign Minister of Turkey today.
The following is his latest blog entry on the meeting:
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Turkey May 8, 2006
Months ago, when we planned to visit Ankara, the capitol city of
Turkey, on our way back from Iraq, little did we know that our visit
would take place in the midst of swirling international developments
regarding Iran.
I did not imagine that our meetings with the Foreign Minister of
Turkey, Abdullah Gul, would take place while the UN was debating
sanctions against Iran.
And I never imagined that our meeting with the General Secretary of
Turkey’s National Security Council would take place in the same
building and in the same conference room where the National Security
Advisor of Iran had just concluded a meeting ten minutes earlier. But
that’s just what happened.
Our day began with a short drive to the palatial residence of the
Foreign Minister of Turkey, Abdullah Gul. A pleasant and earnest man,
the Foreign Minister ushered us into a large conference room and
offered a perfunctory welcome.
After I thanked our host for receiving us, I opened the meeting with
reference to the fact that the United States values our relationship
with Turkey, despite recent differences over our policy in Iraq. I
reiterated the comments expressed by Secretary of State Rice in her
visit to this country just two weeks ago and invited his comments on
Iraq and Iran. Others expressed our concern over the recent meeting
with Hamas in Turkey and urged a just resolution of the question of
Armenian genocide.
The Foreign Minister leaned forward on his elbows and went to work
explaining the Turkish view of each of the issues in an intense but
friendly manner.
On Iraq, he expressed the long-standing position of Turkey that Iraq
must remain a single country. He said the new government should
“concentrate on Baghdad and should not think of separating the
country.” He urged a long view of the challenges we face in Iraq
saying, “I believe for a long time, Iraq will keep us busy.”
On the subject of withdrawal, he was equally blunt: “We should not
give up until we se a stable and democratic Iraq….a sudden or
immediate withdrawal from Iraq by the United States would be a
catastrophe.”
Of the root causes of the insurgency: “Iran’s influence is
deepening.”
On the subject of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, the Foreign
Minister alluded to a meeting later in the day with a delegation from
Iran that included Iran’s National Security Advisor Larijani. He said
he expected the Iranians to argue that they needed nuclear power to
meet their energy needs but added, “They cannot convince us. They
have enough energy sources.” He assured us that he would deliver a
“strong message” that “nuclear program is wrong” and closed saying
that on the subject of Iran’s nuclear program, “our policies are the
same as United States.”
Later in the day we met with the civilian National Security Council
headed by Ambassador Yigit Alpogan. Until very recently, this agency
was the center of Turkey’s national security and is still housed in
an opulent building of long corridors, red carpets and ceremonial
military displays. We entered the conference room and sat at a long
table facing our Turkish counterparts and learned, to our surprise,
that the Iranian delegation left that room just ten minutes before we
arrived. The topic: Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We got right
down to business.
I asked the Ambassador what insights he might share about the
situation in Iran since Turkey had shared a border with Iran and had
close dealings since about the 15th century.
That was the moment that he informed us that the Iranians had just
left and that he had been meeting with them for the past four hours.
He said that Iran had made its case: “they have complaints; they say
they have been misunderstood…that they would like the right to have
peaceful uses of nuclear energy.” Interestingly, he said that the
Iranians “are open to inspections and transparency” saying that they
assured him “they don’t have nothing to hide.”
When we asked how he had responded, flanked by two military generals,
the civilian head of Turkey’s national security said, “We are
disturbed that they are intending to acquire nuclear weapons
technology.” Much later in the discussion, he would use this same
phrase, “we told them we are disturbed.”
When one colleague asked, “What are they really up to?”, the Foreign
Minister replied in a nonchalant manner, “They want to develop a
nuclear weapon as soon as possible.”
The Iranians apparently didn’t make their case.
Of solutions, the Foreign Minister stated emphatically that “the only
way to solve the problem is through diplomatic matters.” But he said
he had made it clear to Iran that Turkey stand with the UN saying,
“Turkey will abide by all means to any Security Council Resolution.”
In all, it was an encouraging meeting with a friend who was willing
to speak truth to their neighbor.
As we prepared to end the meeting, I told the Foreign Minister how
grateful we were to be received on such a momentous day where he met
with Iranian and American officials in the same day. To lighten the
moment, I said, “I won’t ask you which meeting was more tedious!” Our
host burst into laughter adding, “And I will not answer this question
anyway!” A meeting among friends should always end in a spirit of
friendship.
As we fly across Europe enroute to visit soldiers at our hospital in
Germany, I am certain that while we are leaving Turkey behind, the
topic of our attention in these high level meetings will be front and
center for some time. I leave with a sense of the seriousness of this
moment in contemporary world history. I also leave with a sense that,
while we may differ from time to time with the government of Turkey,
we have in this ancient land a friend of freedom and of the United
States. And that will be an asset as the United States responds in
Iraq and to Iran in the uncertain days that lie ahead.