Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 18 2008

Gül denies US pressure in energy deal with Iran

President Abdullah Gül has said Ankara and Tehran need more
time to finalize a major natural gas deal, playing down reports that
US pressure on Turkey to abandon the project is behind the delay.

"We would have liked to move ahead with the project" when Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Turkish leaders in
İstanbul on Thursday and Friday, Gül said in the central
Anatolian province of NevÅ?ehir on Saturday. "But we saw that
the preparations are as of yet insufficient, and we instructed our
energy ministries to carry out more detailed work," he added.

Ahmadinejad arrived in Ä°stanbul on Thursday for a landmark
visit, a first since he took office in 2005. Turkey and Iran signed a
series of agreements on the first day of his visit to further
cooperate in a number of areas, including the fight against terrorism
and organized crime, but fell short of signing an energy deal that the
United States had opposed. A joint statement released prior to a press
conference by Ahmadinejad and Gül said the two countries would
continue to discuss further cooperation in the field of
energy. "Undoubtedly, Turkey has allies. … Undoubtedly Turkey
differs with Iran on many issues. … But we would regret it if some
would think that we do things because someone tells us to," Gül
said.

The president, meanwhile, also said that police had intelligence of a
"threat" to Ahmadinejad during his visit to Turkey. He said the high
security during the visit was prompted by intelligence of a threat to
the visiting leader; he did not elaborate further. Police banned
traffic on roads that Ahmadinejad used during his visit, leaving many
local residents and tourists stranded and causing some air travelers
to miss their flights.

Also in NevÅ?ehir, in a reconciliatory message to neighboring
Armenia, Gül said Turkey was "no enemy" to any country in its
region. His statement comes as he ponders a possible landmark trip to
Yerevan. Gül said the conflict between Georgia and Russia
displayed the need for "early measures to resolve frozen problems in
the region and … prevent instability in the future."

"This is our understanding on all problems. We are no enemy to anyone
in the region," he said, reiterating a Turkish proposal to set up a
regional forum for stability in the Caucasus. His remarks came in
response to a question on whether he would accept an invitation by
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan to go to Yerevan in September to
watch a World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and
Armenia. Gül said he was still evaluating the invitation.

`US must share power’

Also Saturday, an interview with Turkey’s president by UK daily The
Guardian was published — Gül’s first interview with a foreign
newspaper since assuming the presidency in August 2007.

The conflict in Georgia showed that the United States could no longer
shape global politics on its own and should begin sharing power with
other countries, Gül told The Guardian.

"I don’t think you can control all the world from one center … What
we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together,
make common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new
world order, if I can say it, should emerge," he said.

18 August 2008, Monday

TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES ANKARA