Gul: We Must Assist Iraqi People

CAIRO - Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday, ''The Iraqi administrators have faced serious problems. The country experiences violence and acts of terrorism almost daily. Therefore, we must to help both Iraqi people and the Iraqi government.''
Replying to questions of journalists, Gul, who is currently in Egyptian capital Cairo to attend the meeting of Regional Initiative on Iraq, said, ''the meeting aims to assist the Iraqi government. During the meeting, all neighbors of Iraq divulged their views. Iraq and the United Nations are also represented at the meeting during which I reiterated that Turkey is in favor of the safeguard of Iraq's territorial integrity and unity.''
Upon a question about Kirkuk, Gul told reporters, ''Kirkuk is a part of Iraq. I called on Iraqi officials to be careful on this issue and to prevent undesired developments since lack of peace in Iraq will affect the whole region.''
(UK-ULG) 21.07.2004