ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, ''we will fulfill our responsibilities under United Nations resolution regarding Iraq issue, and this is natural consequence of it.''
Provincial chairmen of the AK Party convened under the chairmanship of Erdogan.
Speaking at the meeting, Erdogan said, ''according to our point of view, the Cyprus question should not be a matter weakening Turkey any more. Therefore, we said that we are ready to negotiate. We are not in favor of using the established language of the status quo on the Cyprus question. We think that it is necessary to find a solution to 40-year Cyprus question.''
''Both sides in Cyprus should refrain from accepting insolubility as a kind of politics. According to our point of view, the plan presented to the sides in the island by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is a negotiable idea. Some circles claim that the plan cannot negotiable and changeable. They are wrong. No one can give up Cyprus or underestimate it. We propose to act reasonably by attending the negotiation process and by taking into consideration of future of both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). There are some circles trying to exploit both our statements and President Rauf Denktas of TRNC by making concessions from welfare, happiness and international respect of Turkish Cypriot people with their policy based on insolubility,'' he said.
''We are definitely not in favor of a policy like 'give and get rid of it' towards Cyprus. However, we say that any favorable point can't be reached with the policies that have been followed for forty years,'' he said.
Erdogan said that those who had governed Turkey for years had failed to solve the Cyprus issue but they had created insolubility and the issue could not be overcome with such a mentality.
Regarding developments in Iraq, Erdogan said that they did not want war, bloodshed and tears in any part of the world, especially in the geography where Turkey was located.
Noting that they did not want anybody to suffer even a slightest stratch abondon his or her homeland and they did not want any child to lose his or her father due to a war, Erdogan said, ''with this respect, the positive attitude that our government and all institutions and organizations which have been a part of the process, have displayed is worthy of esteem. Besides, our prime minister's tour of Middle East countries which he has started yesterday is very important and meaningful as this shows to the whole world that there is still possibility of solving this crisis through peaceful ways.''
''We expect the world states and especially the United Nations to put forward more activities and initiatives for peace and a solution except war. We consider the U.N. resolution binding factor for us. We will fulfil our responsibilities under the U.N. resolution regarding Iraq issue, which is the natural consequence. While we don't want authoritarian administrations which oppress their people, we think that international affairs should be based on power and might relationship. As Turkey, we will of course take measures under our rooted state experiences also by taking unexpected bad possibility into account. Nobody should doubt that we will expend maximum efforts and we will do what is necessary to protect our people against any damage,'' Erdogan added.