KAYSERI - Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday that his visit to Lebanon was not an urgent or secret visit.
Replying to questions of journalists, Gul said, ''I wish I could attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon. However, it was not a state funeral. As a result of our consultations, we decided that it would be more appropriate to pay a visit of condolence to Hariri's family after the funeral. Hariri was one of the leading figures in the Middle East. He had personal and friendly relations with both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and me. It was not an urgent or secret visit at all.''
When recalled that a U.S. newspaper described Turkey as ''sick man'', Gul said, ''there are democracy and press freedom both in the United States and Turkey. Under the freedom of press, journalists can express their views freely. Neither us, nor the U.S. administration are not interested in them. The most important thing is the historical relations between Turkey and the United States. Turkey and the United States have been allies for 60 years. This relation continued under the most difficult conditions.''
Recalling that the United States had pledged to put an end to the blockade of Turkish Cypriots, Gul told reporters, ''as you know, representatives of several U.S. companies paid a visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) yesterday. We appreciated this initiative. We hope that their efforts will yield positive results.''