RICE TELLS TURKEY AGAIN: IRAN IS TROUBLE MAKER

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 28 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Turkey that the Americans
consider Iran a trouble maker and hinted they are unhappy with the
growing energy cooperation between the two countries.

Turkey recently signed a deal with Iran to develop its rich natural
gas fields and also export Iranian gas to Europe through anew pipeline.

The warning by Rice came as she met with her Turkish counterpart
Ali Babacan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly
meetings.

Turkish diplomatic sources said Babacan asked the U.S. to help end
PKK terrorism.

Babacan and Rice discussed Iraq and war on terror, draft resolutions
submitted to the U.S. Congress regarding the incidents of 1915,
Cyprus and the peace process in the Middle East.

According to sources close to the meeting Babacan also informed
Rice about the developments regarding the upcoming Istanbul meeting
of countries neighboring Iraq. Rice said that the U.S. pays utmost
attention to ending PKK terrorism not only in Iraq but everywhere in
the world. She also told Babacan that she will attend the Istanbul
meeting next month.

Babacan reminded Rice about the possible negative impact of
resolutions in the U.S. Congress on the incidents of 1915 may have on
Turkish-U.S. relations. Some congressmen influenced by the Armenian
lobby are trying to get the U.S. to recognize the 1915 incidents
as an act of genocide against Armenians by Turks. In return, Rice
assured Babacan that the U.S. administration is against the adoption
of such resolutions.

On Cyprus, Babacan reiterated Turkey’s views and touched on proposals
made by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President
Mehmet Ali Talat to speed up the Cyprus peace process through more
direct talks between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders instead
of waiting for the issues to be solved at the committee level.

In regard to Iran, Rice argued that Iran is a trouble making country.

"The Iranian nuclear topic is a serious problem," said Rice. Babacan,
on his part, stressed that Turkey does not want a nuclear power in
the region and that it abides by the resolutions of the U.N. Security
Council.

Finally, Rice informed Babacan on an upcoming conference on "Peace
in the Middle East" and stressed that the U.S. pays high attention
to Turkey’s views on Lebanon and Syria.

Other contacts

Babacan’s contacts in New York also covered talks with several
foreign officials.

In a meeting with the Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht Babacan
brought up the issue of terrorist Fehriye Erdal and said Erdal should
be tried again (in Belgium).

Sources said that de Gucht told Babacan that he is closely watching
the re-trial process of the terrorist. During the meeting with Babacan,
de Gucht also informed him that Belgium supports Turkey’s EU process.

Meeting Lavrov

In a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
Babacan and Lavrov reiterated their commitments to a memorandum
of understanding signed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
Russian President Vladimir Putin, aiming to increase bilateral trade
volume to 25 billion USD.

Lavrov told Babacan that Russia is pleased with Turkey’s efforts to
re-activate the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

Both Babacan and Lavrov touched on the importance of preserving Iraq’s
territorial integrity. "I will attend the Istanbul meeting of countries
neighboring Iraq, on October 31," noted Lavrov.

In regard to Cyprus, Lavrov said he supports a solution based on the
mission of good offices of the U.N. Secretary General.

In a meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, Babacan
requested that PKK activities in the Netherlands be forbidden.

Meanwhile, in a speech delivered at the meeting of the Group of Friends
of Alliance of Civilizations Initiative, Babacan said: "The Istanbul
Action Report prepared by high level officials of the initiative
makes important proposals to ease the tough relations between the
West and Islam. I am thankful to the high level representative of
the initiative –former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio– and the
Group of Friends," Babacan noted.

Babacan also met Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).