| Gül unwilling to go to Baghdad for meeting |
|
Turkey is not willing to participate in the foreign ministerial meeting of Iraq's neighboring countries if it is to take place in Baghdad as planned.The foreign minister's meeting among Iraq's neighboring countries is expected to take place in Iraq on March.
None of the participants are not eager to go to Baghdad due to security reasons. Turkey, however, has added political concerns. Ankara wants to see concrete steps on the outlawed PKK issue from Iraq before any official travels to the beleaguered. In that context, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül is not eager to participate in the Baghdad meeting. Right now, participants are each others' pulse and Turkey is hoping that the meeting in Baghdad will be cancelled due to security concerns by participant countries. Baghdad is ready to welcome an official visit from Turkey, and an invitation for Gül was extended last year during a visit by Foreign Minister Zebari. If all the participant countries accept the invitation despite security conditions, and Gül decides to participate, then the Iraqi administration might want to turn this occasion into an official visit by Turkey. Iraq wants to see the support:Last week Iraq's Foreign Minister Zebari officially invited its counterparts from Iran, Syria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for the neighboring countries meeting for the middle of next month. While submitting the invitation, Iraqi diplomats also noted “the meeting had been held in all of the neighboring countries except Iraq and the time has come to show solidarity and support to Iraq”. According to Iraqi sources, security is not an obstacle for the visit since United States President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister of UK Tony Blair and several other state officials had gone to Baghdad. Foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring countries meet periodically to discuss how to contribute to the establishment of peace and security Iraq. DUYGU GÜVENÇ Turkish Daily News |
| < Önceki | Sonraki > |
|---|
- TOP NEWS
- TURKEY
- USA
- ECONOMY
- LIFESTYLE
- TECH
WORLD NEWS TODAY
TURKISH DAILY
- Rice: Anti-PKK fight mustnt destabilize N. Iraq
- Bush vows help for Turkey against PKK terrorists
- For US and Turkey, different priorities
- Turkey skeptical of Iraqi vows to stop PKK
- US, Turkey, step up work against PKK terrorists
- Turkish lawmakers approve incursion into Iraq
- Bush opposes Turkish offensive
- Turkish parliament approves Iraq mission
- Operation prospects generate shockwaves across Iraq
- Financial Times: US Congress actions will not bring justice to the Armenians
- Heavy diplomatic traffic as Ankara anticipates Armenian bill vote
- Brzezinski: US Congress is not the place for the Armenian allegations
