ISTANBUL - Turkey condemned all kinds of terrorism, whatever their reason and aim were and whoever staged them, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Erdogan, who returned from Spanish capital of Madrid where he attended Democracy, Terrorism and Security Summit, told reporters that an action plan named ''Madrid Agenda'' was prepared in the meeting, and this plan aimed at developing an efficient international cooperation mechanism for fight against terrorism.
An international forum would be organized within this framework, Erdogan stated.
Noting that he explained Turkey's experiences and views about fight against terrorism, Erdogan said, ''I stressed that we can't succeed in fight against terrorism if we fight in national level. We stated that all countries should establish a joint platform to fight against terrorism to get results. So, we once more reiterated our call to improve such an international cooperation to counter terrorism. Especially during my meeting with UN Secretary General (Kofi Annan), I said that this fight should be pioneered by the UN. I expect this summit to contribute to enhancement of our cooperation.''
Recalling that a ceremony was held to commemorate the victims of last year's terrorist attacks in Madrid, Erdogan said that they attended this ceremony and showed that they were in solidarity with the victims of terrorism.
Erdogan, who met UN Secretary General Annan, Luxembourg's PM Jean-Claude Juncker and Israeli Deputy PM Shimon Peres as a part of the summit, said, ''we mainly debated our EU membership bid. Not only Juncker but also European Commission President Barosso said that 'everything goes on as planned' despite the recent statements claiming that there is a slow down in Turkey's initiatives (on the road to EU) after December 17th (when European Council decided to open full membership negotiations with Turkey on October 3rd, 2005). We also discussed Middle East problems. And, we exchanged views about terrorism, Cyprus and Iraq with Annan.''
CYPRUS PROBLEM
Touching on Cyprus problem, Erdogan expressed thought that the Greek Cypriot side should also take steps for the solution of the problem.
Noting that he shared his view with Annan and Barosso, Erdogan said, ''Turkey, TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) and people living there (TRNC) have fulfilled their responsibilities. But, the Greek Cypriot administration hasn't. Annan said that he will continue to remind EU members to take necessary steps regarding North Cyprus including financial, economic and commercial steps.''