WASHINGTON D.C. - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkish-American partnership had had a sound basis.
Speaking at the 24th annual conference of the American-Turkish Council (ATC), ''about six decades ago, the United States provided security and economic development in Europe, which was devastated in the World War II. Similarly, the United States assisted Turkey in eliminating all those threats targeting its regime and territorial integrity in the same period.''
''Turkey and the United States cooperated in many parts of the world from Korea to Somalia, from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Afghanistan. Reciprocal confidence stemming from sharing the common values and advocating the same causes for decades has the necessary power to bring Turkey-American partnership to the future,'' he said.
Prime Minister Erdogan added, ''we observe that new tendencies have emerged recently in policies of the United States. They are the conception of a new global strategy aiming to deal with opportunities, risks and threats of the 21st century. They will also serve common interests of the western world since the United States defines its global interests in protection and prevalence of freedoms and democratic values. The United States has recently focused on the Greater Middle East and Eurasia regions in an effort to secure lasting international peace, stability and sustainable economic development. Success of the strategy in long-term will mean turning of a vast geography including Turkey into a zone of peace and prosperity. Turkey, therefore, extends full support to the United States' vision and strategy.''
''There are affinities between views of our countries on many issues such as fight against international terrorism, prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, efforts to secure stability in Caucasus and Central Asia, rebuilding of Afghanistan and energy safety,'' he said.
Referring to recent pessimistic speculations about Turkey-the United States relations, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''actually, I cannot understand such speculations despite existence of such similar visions.''
At a time when radical movements, terrorism and violence are acting as barriers to reform efforts, Turkey's struggle for peace and stability has been termed as a silent revolution, said Erdogan.
Erdogan explained the economic recovery in Turkey with figures and stated that fiscal discipline was followed closely and thus economic success was reached.

-RELATIONS WITH THE EU-

Turkey reached a very important position in regard to the EU on December 17th, 2004, told Erdogan. ''Entry negotiations will start in October. The referendum held in France and the Netherlands were about the EU Constitution and not Turkey. I can not understand why some people associate the referenda held in the two countries with Turkey. As Turkey, our first item on the national agenda is to get ready for entry negotiations which will begin on October 3rd. We do not know how long the actual process will take place, 5, 10 or 15 years. If the EU wishes to be a global player or be the center of compromise among civilizations, then it definitely needs Turkey,'' noted Erdogan.
According to Erdogan, Turkey has a lot to contribute to the EU. ''We are working on upgrading the living standards of the Turkish people. The reforms in Turkey will make it closer to the EU,'' commented Erdogan.

-CYPRUS-

Erdogan mentioned that, despite the ''yes'' vote of the Turkish Cypriots on the Annan Plan on April 24th, not much has been done for the Turkish Cypriots. ''The visit of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by a British business delegation and a U.S. delegation of congress members were positive steps. However, more must be done for the TRNC,'' noted Erdogan.
Premier Erdogan indicated that, although a year has passed since the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Cyprus report was evaluated in the UN, the report has not been realized yet.
Erdogan stressed that the Turkish-U.S. relations must be carried to a more comprehensive platform:
''The administrations of both countries have important roles to play. We are ready to do our part. We can reach each other via direct lines. We should not reach each other through the media. The media may hurt our relations. We are firmly determined to conduct a bilateral relationship that is efficient and result oriented. The high level visits between the two countries are good symbols of our ties. With President Bush, we will have a chance to evaluate our strategic relationship as two friends and allies and will go over the global cooperation that exists between us,'' said Erdogan.