Gul: There Is No Difference Between The Views Of Military, Civilians And Government

ANKARA - Acting Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday that there was no difference between the views of military, civilians and government on issues about the Aegean Sea. Gul said he would discuss the recent developments pertaining to the Aegean together with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
Gul answered the questions of reporters regarded with the allegations of harassment which were made by Greece against Turkey.
When Gul was reminded of the statement of General Staff about the issue and the news reports which said that military wing felt uneasiness and the government did not make a statement on the issue, he said, ''all of us feel uneasy. Any difference of views on such issues is out of question. Our target is to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace. Everybody should act carefully in this respect. There is no meaning in escalating incidents unnecessarily. What we should do is to show Turkish-Greek cooperation to the whole world. This is the cooperation that should be made in every field. It is beneficial to all of us to live in peace by showing respect to each other in this region.''
When asked whether or not Turkey would take initiatives against the efforts of Greece to bring the issue to international platforms, Gul said, ''we know what we should do and when. There will be things we say when time comes. We work on them.''
Gul pointed out that Turkey's rights would be defended in every platform, stating nobody should have suspicion in this respect.
Noting that no uneasiness was conveyed from the Turkish Armed Forces to him about this issue, Gul underlined once again that difference of views on such issues was out of question in Turkey.
When asked whether or not they became late in showing Turkey's reaction to the issue, Gul said, ''we were not late about any issue.''
Gul said he would meet Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou soon and they would take up the issue.
Responding another question, Gul said removal of NATO Southern Region Air Command from Italy to Turkey would positively affect the process between the two countries, yet noted that it was wrong to consider this a victory.
Gul said Greece would also contribute to it, and that this was not an issue of Turkey and Greece.
(AY-MS) 13.06.2003