ANKARA - Foreign Ministry on Thursday clarified the news reports in newspapers about the letter sent by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
Foreign Ministry issued a written statement and said Powell had sent a letter to Gul on February 19 noting that, ''Gul and his counterpart earlier exchanged letters many times in addition to their meetings within the framework of the friendly and productive dialogue. Also it is an established practice of diplomacy that presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers sent letters to each other from time to time according to needs.''
The ministry statement said in the letter Gul's recent visit to Washington was evaluated and it was stated that the visit resulted successfully and strengthened partnership relations between Turkey and the United States.
The statement said the letter also praised the steps taken by Turkey in EU full membership process and the initiative taken by the government for solution of Cyprus question. The letter said support of the United States to the process would continue, and pointed out the important role of Turkey in its region being a strong NATO ally and a democratic country.
The statement said, ''at the same time the letter mentioned the bold steps taken by our government on human rights, the 'zero tolerance' policy which the government adopted in fight against torture, and the legal arrangements approved by the Parliament in this respect. The letter also pointed out the importance of putting into practice the legal arrangements in question.''
(AY) 26.02.2004