President Sezer Hosts Meeting With Karzai And Musharraf -"ankara Statement" Issued

ANKARA - Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer hosted a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in Ankara on Monday.
The meeting was attended also by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Ankara Statement" was issued at the end of the meeting.
After the meeting Sezer indicated that the statement was an important step to boost the tangible cooperation among the three countries.
Sezer added holding a new meeting among Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan was in question at the end of 2007 or beginning of 2008.
The statement underscored that Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to foster their bilateral relations on the basis of good neighborly relations, respect to territorial integrity and avoiding intervention in each others' domestic affairs.
The issue of a meeting in Turkey was brought up to attention of Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul by Afghan President Karzai during Gul's visit to Afghanistan in February.
Karzai asked Turkey's help in overcoming disputes with Pakistan especially regarding fight against terrorism. Afghan President said Turkey, as a country that has friendly ties with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, is the only country that can help with this issue.
Upon an affirmative answer from Pakistan, leaders of both countries were invited by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.