ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Kurdish citizens in Turkey are not minorities but are one element of the whole.
Attending the Youth Summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said that as NATO and the European Union (EU) extend east, Turkey's geographical distance is less significant and it plays a more important role. Expressing the increased importance of Turkey, Erdogan stated that Turkey can help with its experience that comes from the past and its effort to engage with the west.
Erdogan noted that, "Turkey is important to the security of Europe. NATO has fulfilled its mission to provide security and to struggle against to terror and Turkey is working its align itself in the direction of this target".
Responding to a the question concerning the status of Kurdish people in Turkey, Erdogan said that, "Our Kurdish citizens in Turkey are not a minority but are one element of the whole. All elements contribute to the integrity of Turkey. I am from the Black Sea region but my wife is from the eastern Turkish city of Siirt where the Kurdish citizens predominate".
Erdogan said that they have worked to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria since November 3, 2003 and have completed a large part of the reforms. The implementation of these reforms has now been started.
Erdogan also evaluated relations with Armenia saying that, "Turkey aims to be a country that has no problems with its neighbors, but the problems between Turkey and Armenia result from Armenia's attitude. Armenia has problems with Azerbaijan even though it is occupies part of Azerbaijan. We want to improve relations with Armenia but Armenia is a fractious country and the Armenian administration has a difficult attitude. We cannot say why Armenia will not attend NATO Summit in Istanbul, but the assertion of an Armenian genocide cannot be accepted".