ANKARA - Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Kardak incident in the Aegean is nothing new. ''Let us not pay much attention to the Kardak issue,'' said Erdogan.
Erdogan attended a reception held by the Turkish parliament's speaker Bulent Arinc to celebrate the National Sovereignty and Children's Day.
Erdogan talked with the diplomats of several countries one of which was the Dutch ambassador Sjoerd Izaak Hendrik Gosses. Erdogan told Gosses that the end of economic isolation in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would bring a lasting solution in the island. ''We expect the assistance of all friends on this matter. I will make certain contacts after the new government is established in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,'' told Erdogan.
Ambassador of Iraq in Ankara Sabah Cemil Umran has informed Erdogan that efforts are being made to form the cabinet in Iraq. ''Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim Caferi will soon visit Turkey,'' mentioned Umran. Erdogan said no specific date had been set for the arrival of the Iraqi prime minister.
Erdogan met the Polish ambassador Grzegorz Michalski at the reception. Erdogan conveyed his administration's disappointment with the decision of the Polish parliament that recognized the so-called Armenian genocide. ''Our Polish friends should not have taken such a decision. The Polish people have been tricked by certain groups. A very small group of people made Poland take such a decision,'' stressed Erdogan.
Asked by journalists about who will become Turkey's chief negotiator in the European Union process, Erdogan replied that he has the chief negotiator's name in his heart.