PRESIDENT GUL VOICES PLAN TO VISIT BAGHDAD SHORTLY

Today’s Zaman
29 September 2008, Monday
Turkey

President Abdullah Gul and his wife, Hayrunnisa, exchange greetings
on Saturday with Turks living in New York ahead of the Eid al-Fitr
holiday. Gul departed from New York on Sunday. – Photo

President Abdullah Gul has said he plans to visit neighboring Iraq in
a short time to show Turkey’s support for the Iraqi people. Gul had a
bilateral meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Friday in New
York on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly.

During the assembly, Talabani reiterated an earlier invitation to
Gul for paying a visit to Iraq, with Gul accepting this invitation,
sources from President Gul’s office told the Anatolia news agency.

The issue was raised on Saturday when Gul held a press conference
at the Turkevi (Turkish House). "It’s a visit which I desire very
much to make. The prime minister went [to Iraq] a short time ago,"
Gul was quoted as saying by Anatolia when asked whether he had any
plans for visiting Iraq. The president referred to Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit to Baghdad in July.

"I also want to go to Baghdad shortly at an appropriate time. A visit
paid needs to be reciprocated," Gul continued, in apparent reference
to Iraqi President Talabani’s visit to Ankara in March of this
year. "Iraq is Turkey’s neighbor and is passing through a significant
period of time. I would like to show my support to Iraq," he said,
while describing his meeting with Talabani as "useful and precious."

Gul was also reminded of the fact that his meeting with Talabani
came only hours after a Thursday air strike by the Turkish military
on targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) based in
northern Iraq.

"The struggle against the PKK is a separate thing. Turkey is
launching targeted operations. All executives have seen Turkey’s
intention. Turkey’s intention is not to destabilize Iraq. Our target
is obvious. What is going on is isolated activity against a terrorist
organization which is launching terrorist actions against Turkey via
arms and explosives," Gul was quoted as saying by Anatolia. "These
[Turkey’s activities against the PKK] are not annoying anyone,"
he was also quoted as saying by the NTV news station.

Until last year, tensions between Ankara and Iraq were high due to
Turkey’s frustration over Iraq’s perceived reluctance or inability
to hunt down the PKK terrorists, who conduct hit-and-run attacks
on Turkish targets from bases in northern Iraq. Things began to
improve last year, following a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, who pledged to support Turkey in its efforts to fight
terrorism. Talabani visited Ankara in March, taking the dialogue a
step further.

Prime Minister Erdogan in July became the first senior Turkish leader
to visit neighboring Iraq since the US-led war in 2003, pledging
to deepen cooperation with the country in all areas after years of
tension in relations.

‘Armenia border could be opened’

During the same press conference, Gul also said bilateral cooperation
with Armenia in various fields was possible as long as a healthy
dialogue with this country is maintained. "Would border gates be closed
if we didn’t have any problem?" Gul asked, when he was asked under
which conditions Turkey would agree to open border gates with Armenia.

"We do not have full diplomatic relations and cooperation. Why
not? Because we have problems, and that’s why border gates are
closed. The aim of this visit and meetings is launching a meeting and
dialogue process which will remove these problems. If these problems
are removed, then all kinds of cooperation happen, borders can be
opened and relations cane be fully established. Other things can also
be done. A much wider economic solidarity may emerge," Gul said,
in an apparent reference to his visit to Yerevan on Sept. 6 at the
invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan to watch a World Cup
qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams, as
well as to a trilateral meeting between foreign ministers of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Turkey which took place in New York on Friday on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The three ministers agreed to continue talks "for a better political
dialogue and a better understanding," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan said after the meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard
Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Babacan
said they began talks on "specific regional matters" but did not
elaborate.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in protest of Armenian
occupation of a chunk of Azerbaijani territory over a dispute
on Nagorno-Karabakh. Ankara is now seeking to include Armenia in
a regional cooperation platform that is planned to also include
Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and Georgia. Nalbandian backed Turkey’s
regional cooperation proposal and Mammad-yarov said regional problems
must be resolved in appropriate ways.
From: Baghdasarian