ANKARA (CIHAN) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had asked the US President Bush to end isolation and to lift embargoes on Turkish Cyprus and not to wait steps of European Union on Cyprus issue.
The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell and the National Security Advisor of the US President, Condoleezza Rice accompanied President Bush in his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, who is also accompanied by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, in Turkish Prime Ministry Head Office in Ankara.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had asked President Bush to end isolation of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) in the new era arisen with rejection of UN-backed peace plan by Greek Cypriots in referendum on April 24. Erdogan demanded President Bush to start direct charter flights to Northern Cyprus from America and Erdoðan also demanded announcement of the US plans to end isolation of KKTC and to end sanction on KKTC before the announcement of European Union`s plans on the same issue. Prime Minister Erdoðan called the US not to wait European Union`s steps on Cyprus.
President Bush said that the US was in preparation to take concrete steps to end isolation of Turkish Cyprus.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan also stated Turkey`s uneasiness about the lack of concrete steps of the US to remove the terrorists of Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), which is also known as KADEK, from Northern Iraq.
More than 4 thousand armed members of PKK-KADEK, which had fought against Turkish state between 1984-1999 causing death of more than 30 thousand Turkish people and pulled back its forces to Kandil Mountains in Northern Iraq in 1999 announcing a unilateral ceasefire, are hiding in Kandil Mountains in Northern Iraq and the terrorist organization announced the end of its unilateral ceasefire and began to attack Turkish security forces since June 1, 2004.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkey attaches great importance to the issue and added that the US forces in Iraq was also responsible for Northern Iraq where PKK-KADEK terrorists are hiding now and the US, which has so far promised Turkey to remove PKK-KADEK terrorists from Northern Iraq, has not fulfilled its promises. Erdogan stated that the lack of moves against PKK-KADEK terrorist organization would harm the combat against international terrorism.
As a response to demands of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to remove PKK-KADEK forces from Northern Iraq, the US President George W. Bush said the US would demand the Interim Government of Iraq to take concrete steps to remove PKK-KADEK from Northern Iraq and the US would do its best.
President Bush said that Prime Minister Erdogan was just in statements on international terrorism and combat against PKK-KADEK was in the realm of combat against international terrorism.
Commenting on the Iraq problem, Erdogan conveyed Turkey`s concerns for the Iraq issue and said that oppression of an ethnic group, referring to Kurds, upon other ethnic groups like Turkmen was unacceptable.
Erdogan reiterated the importance of Iraq`s territorial integrity for Turkey and said that Turkmen people were ignored and neglected in Iraq and demanded more representation of Turkmen in Iraqi government.
Erdogan specially pointed to the importance of oil-rich Northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk for Turkey and Kirkuk city was an Iraqi city that belongs to all Iraqi people.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan conveyed Turkey`s intention to open a consulate in Northern Iraqi city of Musoul.
President Bush said on Iraq issue that the US shares Turkey`s concerns about the issue.
Afghanistan problem was also discussed in Erdogan-Bush meeting and Erdogan enumerated Turkey`s contributions to NATO and America in Afghan problem, and said that former Turkish foreign minister`s mission in Afghanistan as NATO`s Senior Representative in Afghanistan, Hikmet Çetin, especially increased Turkey`s contributions to Afghanistan. Erdogan added that Turkey`s contributions to Afghanistan would continue in time.
Erdogan stated that Turkey would actively join Palestinian-Israel conflict if demanded and Turkey was ready to make all contributions demanded from Turkey. President Bush said that Turkey could undertake important missions in the Middle East due to historical ties with the region and Turkey`s importance in the region. Bush also added that the US was not also in favor of Israel`s policy of demolishing homes of Palestinian people during withdrawal from refugee camps.
Erdogan also demanded the President Bush whether trial of three Turkish Al-Qaeda suspects holding in an American military prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba if they were real criminals or release of them if they were not real criminals.
Turkish Prime Minister conveyed Turkey`s decision not to use the 8.5 billion dollars American credit. In 2003, the US decided to give 8.5 billion dollars credit to Turkey for Turkey`s contributions to the US in Iraq issue but some articles of the credit agreement demanding non-intervention of Turkey in Iraq in any case had caused debates in Turkey.