ANKARA - Turkey hosted a meeting of leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have some problems especially in fight against terrorism.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had a trilateral meeting in Turkish capital of Ankara which was also attended by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
An "Ankara Declaration" was released after the meeting. President Sezer qualified the declaration as an important step taken to boost cooperation among the three countries.
Diplomatic sources stressed that Afghan and Pakistani leaders have not signed such a joint declaration before, and deemed the agreement reached in Ankara an important development.
According to the same sources, foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan should meet within the scope of the G-8 meeting.
-TURKEY'S ROLE-
Turkey acted in line with expectations of the two countries in this process, shared its experiences and brought the two countries together, the same sources said.
Both Afghanistan and Pakistan have confidence in Turkey, which has assumed a "facilitating" role in Afghan-Pakistani meeting. This confidence contributed to the process.
Turkey attached importance to being at equal distance to both leaders during the meeting, and the two leaders, themselves, agreed on the principles listed in the Ankara Declaration, diplomatic sources stated.
According to the same sources, Turkey shared its experiences, particularly the mechanisms it uses in solving its problems with its neighbors, with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Diplomatic sources noted that confidence-building measures will be functional in overcoming tension between the two countries.
Turkey contacted many countries, including the USA, before this meeting, diplomatic sources added.
-JOINT WORKING GROUP-
Formation of a "joint working group", comprised of high-level representatives of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan to monitor developments and ensure coordination of confidence-building measures, is one of the most important items of the declaration.
The group is to have a meeting at the end of 2007 or the beginning of 2008.
-SIGNIFICANT POINTS OF ANKARA DECLARATION-
Under the Ankara Declaration, the parties agreed to enhance their bilateral and good neighborly relations, respect each other's territorial integrity, and not to intervene in each other's internal affairs.
The parties also decided to fight against terrorism, and underlined that there is a link between terrorism in the region and illicit drug trafficking and organized crime.
The two countries also decided to work together to help Afghan refugees in Pakistan return to their countries, diplomatic sources added.
-KARZAI IN KONYA-
Within the scope of his visit to Turkey, Karzai visited Alaaddin Mosque and Mevlana Museum in central Anatolian city of Konya.