ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Turkey on Wednesday.
Erdogan went to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, who met with Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis on Wednesday, said after the meeting that they would always preserve their good will mutually on Cyprus.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis, Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and Greek Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis held a quartet meeting in Sarajevo the same day. During the meeting, Turkish and Greek sides discussed the Cyprus issue and the bilateral relations.
Speaking at the Seventh Summit of Heads of State and Government of Southeast European Countries Co-operation Process, Erdogan said, '' when foundation efforts for the Southeast European Countries Co-operation Process started about eight years ago, today's level of co-operation among the Balkan countries was unimaginable. Today, ongoing reform process and co-operation in our region which was described in the past as the powder keg of Europe, have reached an exemplary level for the other regions in the world.''
Erdogan was received by Presidency Chairman Sulejman Tihic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and met with Prime Minister Adnan Terzic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader of Croatia and Prime Minister Fatos Nano of Albania.
In a press conference with heads of state and government of other participating countries, Erdogan said that the Balkans was no more remembered with negative concepts but remembered with concepts like ''ethnic harmony, mutual respect and co-existence in peace.''
Also, Erdogan said that Turkey wished that Cyprus would become an island of peace and freedom on the basis of ''win-win'' principle.
Erdogan was accompanied by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, deputies and bureaucrats.
(BRC) 21.04.2004