KUWAIT - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Saturday that, ''let us form our own multilateral cooperation and security mechanisms.''
Addressing the leaders of the participant countries at the opening of meeting of neighboring countries to Iraq, Gul said, ''we can form our multilateral cooperation mechanism with political determination. We have the ability to undertake this responsibility in times of change.''
Gul said, ''we should have the courage to protect our own region,'' stating that, ''we should prepare ourselves to take new steps that would provide security in all our region. We should take necessary lessons from the war and clashes which Europe had done after two world wars.''
Gul said in the five previous meetings of neighboring countries to Iraq, they built a joint vision to live together in peace in the region, and noted that the results were included in last year's statements of Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC).
Stressing that support to Iraq should be fulfilled, Gul said, ''we should work together in every field. We should also form the basis of foundation of structural cooperation between regional countries and Iraq.''
Gul said they were pleased as they had the opportunity to share ideas and concerns with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in this meeting.
Gul said the U.N. was called to play an important role in political transition period in Iraq and that studies of the U.N. team, which searched for the opportunities to hold a general election in Iraq were pleasing, noting that inclusion of the U.N. in the political transition period was very important. He said thus, regional countries could make more contribution to Iraq.
Gul said international community appreciated the importance of the initiative to hold a meeting of neighboring countries to Iraq, and recalled that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan formed ''Iraq friendship group''.
Gul said they hoped to see a free and democratic Iraq which provided its political unity and territorial integrity and living in peace with its people and neighbors.
(AY) 15.02.2004