Erdogan: My Moscow Visit Was A Proper One

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that his Moscow visit was a proper one.
     Erdogan was in Moscow to attend ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany.
     Erdogan remarked that he went to Moscow upon an invitation from the Russian President Vladimir Putin. ''I met many heads of states in Moscow. The leaders and I talked on Turkey's political, economic and commercial relations with their countries,'' stressed Erdogan.
     Asked by a correspondent on his meetings with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Greek Cypriot administration's leader Tassos Papadopoulos, Erdogan replied that Papadopoulos, Annan and he held three-way talks.
     Erdogan said Annan had repeated his readiness to assist a fresh diplomatic push to end the dispute in Cyprus.
     ''I saw the Greek Cypriots were not negative about this. Compared to their previous statements, I saw they approached positively the issue of carrying out such a process,'' Erdogan told reporters on his return from Moscow to Ankara. He said he would discuss the Cyprus issue further with Annan during his planned trip to the United States in early June.
     Erdogan also stressed that he will meet the U.S. President George Bush in Washington in June.

2005-05-09