US ENVOY STRESSES COMMON GOALS, NEED TO WORK TOGETHER
Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
June 28 2007
Izmir, 28 June: "Turkey and the USA have common goals, and they will
work together as much as possible", the US ambassador to Turkey,
Ross Wilson, said on Thursday [28 June].
"There have been ups and downs in Turkish-US relations, however what is
important is that the two countries share common ideals, like freedom,
prosperity, stability and peace", Wilson stated during his visit to
the Chamber of Commerce in Aegean city of Izmir.
Noting that Iraq has been a big problem for the USA and the world,
Wilson said that US President George Bush has admitted that some
mistakes were made regarding this country.
Wilson said that the Iraqi government cannot ensure stability but
stated that unity and stability are the common goals of Iraqis.
Pointing out that northern Iraq has been transformed to a haven for
PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] terrorists, Wilson said that financial
support to this terrorist organization must cease, before emphasizing
that the USA and Turkey will cooperate in this area.
Wilson said that Turkey and the entire world will face serious problems
if they do not succeed in Iraq.
Qualifying the terrorist organization PKK as a specific problem,
Wilson said that they will definitely get some results in this matter.
Wilson said that they want to change the general view of Iraq and
overcome problems, including the one posed by terrorist organization
PKK.
Appreciating Turkey’s initiatives (regarding Iraq), Wilson said that
Turkey is the second country, after the USA, which gave highest victims
(because of the war in Iraq).
Wilson reiterated that they will be successful and said that Iraq
will become a constructive not destructive factor in the region .
On the other hand, Wilson reaffirmed that there is a nuclear threat
in Iran and added that Europe, Turkey and the USA share the same
opinion that Iran is a very dangerous country for the world.
Turkey-Armenia
"The US administration has accepted that many things happened during
the World War I, many Armenians were exiled and died, and a tragedy
was experienced", Wilson stated on Turkish-Armenian relations.
"However, the (Bush) administration urges Turkey and Armenia to
discuss and reach a compromise on historical events, and normalize
their relations", he said.
On Turkey’s EU membership bid, Wilson said that the USA supports
Turkey’s membership but Cyprus problem makes this process difficult,
before recalling that his country has conveyed its position to European
countries asking Cyprus should not constitute a problem for Turkey’s
membership.
Meanwhile, Wilson said that he will not intervene in Turkey’s internal
affairs and added that all candidates running for 22 July general
elections should be respected and given the right to speak freely.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
