MOSCOW - Turkey's Ambassador to Russia Kurtulus Taskent said on Thursday that recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul aimed at democratic and secular structure of Turkey.
Taskent and British Ambassador to Russia Roderic Lyne held a joint press conference on recent terrorist attacks in Turkey.
Turkey's Ambassador in Moscow Taskent said that recent terrorist attacks proved that cooperation was obligatory in fight against terrorism.
Noting that terrorism did not have religion and nation and it had an aim peculiar to itself, Taskent said, ''attacks in Istanbul could have several reasons. One of these reasons was to aim at Turkey's secular and democratic structure.''
Taskent stated that democracy and secularism were a philosophy and living style for Turkey and it was impossible for Turkey to give them up.
Recent attacks in Istanbul showed how necessary international cooperation was in fight against terrorism, Taskent pointed out.
Taskent stressed that messages of many statesmen and international organizations in the wake of the attacks underlined that cooperation was obligatory in fight against international terrorism.
Stating that they were talking about cooperation in action in fight against terrorism, Taskent said, ''because, it is never certain who and when terrorism will hit. The Russians have chosen Turkey as their prior touristic destination for years. The number of tourists to visit Turkey by the end of this year is expected to exceed 1 million 200 thousand. This is 30 percent more than last year's figures. Security measures have been tightened in not only metropolises, but also in touristic sites and holiday villages. We are checking travel agencies here every day and see that more than 95 percent of reservations come true.''
Replying to a question, Taskent said that he did not see any link between developments in Georgia and terrorist attacks.
Taskent noted that Turkey was a neighbor of Georgia and therefore, closely followed developments in that country.
Stating that Georgia's territorial integrity was important for all neighboring countries, Taskent said, ''peace and stability in South Caucasus is for the benefit of all neighboring countries, particularly Turkey and Russia. Russia is holding important consultations regarding this issue from time to time.''
Taskent said that how dangerous terrorism was and how beneficial international cooperation was in fight against terrorism were revealed after September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States.
Cooperation in countering terrorism should be determinedly continued without violating democratic rights, Taskent stated.
Replying to a question, Taskent said that he also saw the news that some of assailants who were involved in the attacks fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
Taskent said, ''it is seen that there is more collaboration and support among terrorist organizations than it is thought.''
Upon another question, Taskent said that attacks might have several reasons and added, ''there is news that an organization bound to Al Qaida claimed responsibility for the attacks. We can come to the conclusion that those who are not pleased with Turkey's democratic and secular structure staged these attacks.''
British Ambassador to Russia Lyne defined terrorist attacks in Istanbul as attacks staged on tolerance of Turkey.
Upon a question, Lyne said that if British intelligence service received any information about the terrorist attacks, it would share it with Turkish colleagues.
Lyne said that dimensions of international terrorism after those attacks were very grave, adding that international fight was obligatory against terrorism.
(BRC-AÖ) 27.11.2003