ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan received on Monday French-Turkish Friendship Group Chairman Michel Pelchat.
Sources said that developments regarding Iraq and France's stance in NATO were taken up during the meeting.
The sources noted that Pelchat and Erdogan informed each other about the stance of their countries regarding Iraqi issue.
Pelchat expressed his view that Turkey could play an important role in avoiding war, the sources stated.
The sources quoted Erdogan as saying that the European Union (EU) was divided into two. Erdogan was also quoted as saying that some EU members made statements supporting the United States while some of them were against a possible operation against Iraq.
Erdogan said that Iraq and Turkey were neighbors and that the measures that Turkey had taken recently ''aimed to protect the country from a possible fire that could break out in the neighbor not to prepare for war.''
The United States should give some written commitments to Turkey, Erdogan was quoted as saying.
The sources said that Turkey's EU membership process also came onto the agenda during the meeting.
The sources quoted Erdogan as saying that Turkey was not fully satisfied with the result of the Copenhagen Summit. Erdogan expressed the view that ''if membership negotiations had been started between Turkey and the EU, Turkey would have had more influence on peace today.''
France's last stance in NATO was also taken up during the meeting, the sources said and added that Pelchat gave the message that ''the two countries were friends.''