Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer stressed to visiting
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday that Turkey
wants a peaceful diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, and that
it opposes any military options.
Sezer clearly outlined Turkey's
perspective to Rice on the Iranian nuclear crisis, diplomatic sources said
yesterday. Stressing that the Iranian government has unavoidable
responsibilities, including full transparency about its nuclear program and
full cooperation with the United Nations, Sezer went
on to say that Turkey
wants a peaceful diplomatic resolution to the crisis. "We already have
many serious problems in the region. There has been no real improvement in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict or in the situation in Iraq.
Problems persist in the Caucasus. This region cannot
bear another large crisis," Sezer told Rice.
According to diplomats, Rice warned Sezer
about the serious threat Iran
would pose if it were to develop a nuclear bomb, and further stressed that what
the U.S.
administration is trying to do is reach a peaceful diplomatic solution.
"But in order to reach that goal, the international community should speak
as one voice, and there should not be any deviations encouraging Tehran
to avoid its responsibilities," Rice told Sezer.
The U.S.
secretary of state also asked for support for U.S.-led initiatives to increase
pressure on Tehran to meet U.N.
expectations with its nuclear program.
Sezer, who has largely ceremonial
powers but can influence major security decisions, opposed U.S.
plans to invade Iraq
due to the lack of a UN resolution authorizing the use of force.
Ankara has
important trade and economic relations with neighboring Iran
and is concerned about the possibility of sanctions being imposed by the UN
Security Council. The volume of trade between the two countries reached $604.16
million in the first two months of this year alone, 23.8 percent higher than
the year before.
But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also
critical of the idea of a possible military operation against Iran,
told the press last month that Turkey
does not favor sanctions and will abide by the decisions of the UN Security
Council on Iran.
Strategic 'common vision' paper
During Rice's daylong visit to Ankara
on Tuesday, Turkey
and the U.S.
agreed to develop a joint "common vision" paper to upgrade the
relations to the level of "strategic partnership."
Diplomats said on Wednesday that the document will serve as
a guideline between Washington and the Turkish government but will not be
signed by the parties and will not bring any commitment to the two sides.
The strategic common vision paper, which the diplomats are
still working on, includes the following common goals:
- Turkey's
European Union accession
- Settlement of the Cyprus
problem
- Eliminating the terrorist PKK threat
- Enhancing stability and democracy in Iraq,
maintaining territorial integrity and political unity
- Success in Afghanistan's
political and economic reconstruction
- Turkey's
stronger role in the Greater Middle East Initiative (GME)
- Closer cooperation on energy
- Normalization of relations between Turkey
and Armenia
- Establishing new permanent mechanisms to boost exchanges
of ideas on all levels in the areas of politics, the economy and defense
Gul accompanies Rice to the
airport
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
yesterday accompanied the U.S.
secretary of state for almost half an hour from the hotel she stayed last night
to the airport, on her way to Baghdad
for a short visit.
Diplomatic sources said yesterday that the U.S.
secretary of state during her talks in Ankara
also expressed Washington's
uneasiness with Russia's
Gazprom's increasing influence in region. Rice warned
that both Turkey and Western Balkans are becoming more depended on Russian gas
and expressed the U.S.' distrust in Gazprom's aim to
take part on a gas pipeline project between Turkey and Greece. She also
suggested less dependency on Russia
and giving priority to other options, including Azerbaijani gas.
Rice, in her unexpected visit to Baghdad
yesterday, changed her plane at Incirlik Airbase
seven miles from Adana,
Turkey. Rice was
scheduled to go to Sofia after her
meetings in Ankara, to take part in
a European Union-NATO informal meeting of foreign ministers.
Posted: 4/27/06
Source: thenewanatolian.com
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