ERDOGAN IN LEBANON
Monday Morning Weekly, Lebanon
Jan 8 2007
On the level of international relations, it is worth noting the visit
to Lebanon of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister. He
inspected the Turkish contingent with UNIFIL in South Lebanon, and also
took this opportunity to meet with President Lahoud, Speaker Berri
and Premier Saniora. He and Saniora held a joint press conference at
the Serail, where a dinner was given in Erdogan’s honor.
"We favor domestic peace and political unity amongst Lebanese, and
we believe that dialogue is the only way to resolve the crisis",
Erdogan told reporters.
Asked if Turkey might mediate between the government and its
Hezbollah-led opposition, Erdogan replied that it was "ready to play
such a role if all sides ask for it to do so".
"We have contacted all internal and regional parties so as to favor
a resumption of dialogue", he said, including Iran and Syria, both
of which provide support to Hezballah.
"Syria and Iran are not opposed to the international tribunal but
they do question certain points of its statute and give priority to
forming a government", Erdogan said, without elaborating.
Saniora said he had "examined the question of simultaneity of the
questions of the tribunal and the government" while rejecting that
"one party imposes its point of view on the other.
"We are ready to look at observations concerning the tribunal, on
condition it is not emptied of its essence", said Siniora.
"We want to have good relations with Syria and Iran, but they must
be based on mutual respect and non-interference, and Lebanon must
not be used as a theater for the conflicts of others".
Erdogan said he also intended to see Mohammad Raad, the leader of
Hezballah’s parliamentary group.
Later, Erdogan hopped onto a military helicopter for a short flight
south to Smaia, near Tyre, 80 kilometers from Beirut, where the
headquarters of the 261-strong Turkish UN contingent is situated.
It is worth mentioning that Armenian political parties and students
held demonstrations at Beirut airport and in Bourj Hammoud by way of
protest against the visit of the Turkish prime minister, whom they
denounced as "a strategic ally of Israel".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
