ANKARA - ''There is no presidential election on AKP's (governmental Justice & Development Party) agenda,'' Turkish Prime Minister and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Addressing the gathering of his party at the parliament, Erdogan said, ''there are still two years for election of the new President of Turkey. The parliament will elect the new President at the right time.''
-HIS VISIT TO UNITED STATES-
Touching on his five-day working trip to the United States, Erdogan said that this visit was not only fruitful for Turkish-U.S. relations but also a suitable ground where regional matters were discussed, common perspectives were underlined and views were shared.
''Turkish-U.S. relations are shaped up on cooperation, sometimes established under the auspices of NATO and sometimes established directly. This is not only a military alliance, but a cooperation which we also have in area of economy and which has strategic importance,'' said Erdogan.
Erdogan noted that he had the opportunity to explain Turkey's theses, steps for democracy, economic possibilities, dynamics and European Union (EU) perspective during his talks with U.S. officials.
''I would like to draw attention to especially our meeting with Bill Frist, leader of the majority at the U.S. Congress, and Herry Riht, leader of the minority. The meeting was also attended by chairmen of foreign affairs and defense commissions. I would like to recall that Senator Frist, leader of the majority at the Senate who called Turkey 'loyal and reliable ally' a day before our meeting, called on the U.S. administration 'to carry out a more active fight against the terrorist organization PKK','' said Erdogan.
Recalling his meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Erdogan said that he had the opportunity to re-explain Cyprus cause, and Turkey's sensitivity about restructuring of the UN Security Council, and views about several issues, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Erdogan said that both U.S. President George Bush and UN Secretary General Annan thanked Turkey and Turkish Cypriot people for showing their will for a solution (in the island) with last year's (April 24th, 2004) simultaneous referenda, and stated that a significant step was taken to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots during his meeting with President Bush.
Recalling that three U.S. senators arrived at Ercan Airport of TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) before his working trip to the United States, Erdogan expressed pleasure with this development, and added that he demanded during his visit to the United States that air corridor should be opened between the Ercan Airport and Washington D.C.