ANKARA - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkish and Greek governments had to launch more important efforts about Cyprus issue.
Speaking in the news conference with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis after the quartet summit held between Simitis, Erdogan, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Erdogan said that Turkish and Greek governments had to launch efforts and walk to the future together.
Erdogan said that Cyprus issue had to be sorted out, adding that ''we said that if Annan plan was going to prepare basis for a new regulation that would balance the interests of both sides, we favoured continuation of this negotiation.''
Erdogan said they favoured a solution in which two societies would live in friendship, noting that their meeting with Simitis was held in a friendly manner. They particularly discussed the steps that could be taken in political relations between Turkey and Greece, he said.
Noting that 900 million dollars of trade between the two countries was not enough and the economic relations had to be strengthened, Erdogan said that the main issue of the meeting was foreign policy, and particularly Iraq.
''We discussed mainly Iraqi and Cyprus issues. We said that we respected protection of Iraqi territorial integrity. We stated that all the natural resources of Iraq had to belong to Iraqi people. Therefore we said that a terrorism basis should not be formed in Iraq,'' Erdogan said.
Erdogan stated that they also discussed to make U.N. be more active to make both Red Crescent and Red Cross to operate more functionally regarding the humanitarian aid to Iraq, adding that aid to Iraq should not only be within the framework of food. Erdogan said they also discussed the issue of transfer of wounded persons from Iraq to other countries including Turkey.
Prime Minister Erdogan said that U.N. had to play an active role in political reconstruction of Iraq after the war.
Simitis said that they discussed various issues which concern both countries, listing these issues as bilateral economic relations, investments and political problems. Simitis said that they mainly took up Iraqi and Cyprus problems. ''Annan plan constitutes basis for solution in Cyprus,'' commented Simitis, noting that they were in consensus of opinion with the Turkish side about the need of finding a solution. Simitis stressed that Turkey and Greece had to encourage solution of the problem.
Greek Prime Minister Simitis said that they were also in consensus of opinion about bringing together foreign ministers and undersecretaries of the two countries, adding they hoped the continuation of the dialogue that started.
Noting that they explained Erdogan the position of EU Commission about Iraq, Simitis said that the U.N. had to play a central role in economic and political reconstruction of Iraq. Simitis said that he also conveyed his views about protection of Iraqi territorial integrity, its borders and the need of ending the war as soon as possible to his Turkish counterpart.
(ÖS) 09.04.2003