BY MURAT YETKIN
RADIKAL- During yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, important foreign political issues were discussed. According to Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, on the table were Turkish-American relations after the US presidential elections, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s condition, and Ankara’s to-do list before the Dec. 17 EU summit. In addition, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with US President George W. Bush on the phone yesterday. It’s understood that he congratulated Bush on his stolen victory and that they discussed the Iraq issue as well. Turkey is still concerned about Iraq. Yesterday US forces moved to take Fallujah. It seems that Bush will implement his Iraq policy with even more violence. Ankara wants the conflict in Iraq to end soon with Iraq’s integrity intact and the PKK no longer a threat. All these issues were discussed with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa yesterday as well. It seems our relations with Syria are moving in a positive direction. Syria will also benefit from Iraq’s integrity. As of now, Syria has problems with Kurdish separatism within its borders.
Actually Syria’s greater problems lie with Israel. It’s not certain how long Yasser Arafat has to live. Even if he can return to Ramallah, how he will be able to govern? This is confusing not only for Syria, but also Turkey and other countries concerned with the region. Some people in Egypt think that Turkey should take a more active role in the Palestinian-Israel issue. Indeed, Turkey respects the words of both Palestine and Israel, but it also doesn’t want to intervene further without international support and guarantees. During Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s meeting with al-Sharaa yesterday, the Iraq-Middle East meeting to be held on Nov. 22-23 in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh was discussed. This meeting will bring together countries bordering Iraq as well as the G-8 countries. This way the US administration will meet the most important actors in the Middle East. Turkey is also among the Mideast actors during its preparations for the Dec. 17 EU summit.