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ERDOGAN SAYS TURKEY WARNED IRAN ABOUT CATERING TO ASSAD
Today's Zaman
Sept 15 2011
Turkey
In this file photo, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in Tehran on October 27, 2009. (Photo:
Cihan)
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said there is no significant
tension between Turkey and Iran, but Turkey has warned Tehran about
Syria on a number of occasions, saying Iran was pampering the Bashar
al-Assad administration.
"We talked about this on the phone with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Later,
he sent a special representative [to Turkey]. We also talked with him.
They did change their attitude [on Syria]. Soon I will send Hakan
[Fidan, undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization
(MİT)]. I will most likely have talks with Ahmadinejad after the UN
meeting," Erdoğan said, speaking to journalists during a flight to
Libya from Cairo, where he visited on Monday and Tuesday.
Speaking on relations with Iran, Erdoğan said he also had plans
to visit the Islamic republic. He said it was possible for Iran and
Turkey to work together against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) in Iraq's Kandil Mountains, where the PKK is based.
The prime minister also shared his opinions on the future of Egypt.
"The first test of democracy in Egypt will be the parliamentary
elections due in November. If they can complete this test successfully,
they might draft a new constitution and hold new elections to either
elect a president or a prime minister," he said, noting that the
voters will have four different ballots to vote with in November and
"they are worried they might not finish it in one day." The prime
minister added: "The important thing is holding the elections. This
will show the power of Tahrir Square." He warned that if the elections
were not held properly, more protests could take place in Egypt.
Erdoğan also offered an explanation for the Muslim Brotherhood's anger
at his words in Cairo, where he told Egyptians not to be "afraid of
secularism." The prime minister said: "My words were misunderstood
because of a translation mistake. In Arabic, there is a word for
'irreligiousness,' and the translator used that word for secularism.
Secularism is not about being an enemy of religion. It is about the
state maintaining the same distance from all religions and acting as
a custodian of their beliefs. This is what we mean when we say don't
be afraid of secularism."
He also said a person who expressed anger at Erdoğan's words
was going to make a new statement and offer a correction to the
misunderstanding. Erdoğan also said rumors that the person who made
the statement on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood was not their
presidential candidate. "This person is someone who left the Muslim
Brotherhood. Plus, if the Muslim Brotherhood had any problems with us,
they would have told us so during our contacts in Egypt. They didn't
even imply any discomfort [with the secularism statement]."
Erdoğan was on a two-day visit to Cairo, where he urged Turkish and
Egyptian businessmen to transform the current high-level political
relations between the two countries into bilateral trade relations
and economic cooperation.
Erdoğan said he came to Egypt with businessmen to contribute to
economic and trade relations, while addressing businessmen at the
Turkey-Egypt Business Council General Assembly in Cairo on Wednesday.
He had a number of meetings with Egyptian authorities and public
figures. He also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on
Wednesday in Cairo, where he said that it was time to raise the
Palestinian flag at the United Nations.
The meeting between Erdoğan and Abbas comes at a time when the
Barack Obama administration is making a final effort to avert a
diplomatic crisis over the Palestinian drive to win UN recognition as
an independent state, which threatens to provoke a regional meltdown
and further isolate Israel, the top US ally in the Middle East.
In addition to Abbas, Erdoğan also had talks with Amr Moussa, former
secretary-general of the Arab League, and Mohamed ElBaradei, former
head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during his
visit. Moussa is a presidential candidate for elections expected to
be held early next year, while ElBaradei is also cited as a potential
candidate.
Erdoğan also met on Wednesday with a delegation from Egypt's most
powerful Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt's Coptic
Christian leader Pope Shenouda III.
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador last week in a row over an
Israeli raid last year that killed nine Turks on a flotilla bound
for Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist group
Hamas and under blockade by Israel.
Erdoğan's recent criticism of Israel has drawn strong support in the
Arab world.
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman
Sept 15 2011
Turkey
In this file photo, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in Tehran on October 27, 2009. (Photo:
Cihan)
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said there is no significant
tension between Turkey and Iran, but Turkey has warned Tehran about
Syria on a number of occasions, saying Iran was pampering the Bashar
al-Assad administration.
"We talked about this on the phone with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Later,
he sent a special representative [to Turkey]. We also talked with him.
They did change their attitude [on Syria]. Soon I will send Hakan
[Fidan, undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization
(MİT)]. I will most likely have talks with Ahmadinejad after the UN
meeting," Erdoğan said, speaking to journalists during a flight to
Libya from Cairo, where he visited on Monday and Tuesday.
Speaking on relations with Iran, Erdoğan said he also had plans
to visit the Islamic republic. He said it was possible for Iran and
Turkey to work together against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) in Iraq's Kandil Mountains, where the PKK is based.
The prime minister also shared his opinions on the future of Egypt.
"The first test of democracy in Egypt will be the parliamentary
elections due in November. If they can complete this test successfully,
they might draft a new constitution and hold new elections to either
elect a president or a prime minister," he said, noting that the
voters will have four different ballots to vote with in November and
"they are worried they might not finish it in one day." The prime
minister added: "The important thing is holding the elections. This
will show the power of Tahrir Square." He warned that if the elections
were not held properly, more protests could take place in Egypt.
Erdoğan also offered an explanation for the Muslim Brotherhood's anger
at his words in Cairo, where he told Egyptians not to be "afraid of
secularism." The prime minister said: "My words were misunderstood
because of a translation mistake. In Arabic, there is a word for
'irreligiousness,' and the translator used that word for secularism.
Secularism is not about being an enemy of religion. It is about the
state maintaining the same distance from all religions and acting as
a custodian of their beliefs. This is what we mean when we say don't
be afraid of secularism."
He also said a person who expressed anger at Erdoğan's words
was going to make a new statement and offer a correction to the
misunderstanding. Erdoğan also said rumors that the person who made
the statement on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood was not their
presidential candidate. "This person is someone who left the Muslim
Brotherhood. Plus, if the Muslim Brotherhood had any problems with us,
they would have told us so during our contacts in Egypt. They didn't
even imply any discomfort [with the secularism statement]."
Erdoğan was on a two-day visit to Cairo, where he urged Turkish and
Egyptian businessmen to transform the current high-level political
relations between the two countries into bilateral trade relations
and economic cooperation.
Erdoğan said he came to Egypt with businessmen to contribute to
economic and trade relations, while addressing businessmen at the
Turkey-Egypt Business Council General Assembly in Cairo on Wednesday.
He had a number of meetings with Egyptian authorities and public
figures. He also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on
Wednesday in Cairo, where he said that it was time to raise the
Palestinian flag at the United Nations.
The meeting between Erdoğan and Abbas comes at a time when the
Barack Obama administration is making a final effort to avert a
diplomatic crisis over the Palestinian drive to win UN recognition as
an independent state, which threatens to provoke a regional meltdown
and further isolate Israel, the top US ally in the Middle East.
In addition to Abbas, Erdoğan also had talks with Amr Moussa, former
secretary-general of the Arab League, and Mohamed ElBaradei, former
head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during his
visit. Moussa is a presidential candidate for elections expected to
be held early next year, while ElBaradei is also cited as a potential
candidate.
Erdoğan also met on Wednesday with a delegation from Egypt's most
powerful Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt's Coptic
Christian leader Pope Shenouda III.
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador last week in a row over an
Israeli raid last year that killed nine Turks on a flotilla bound
for Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist group
Hamas and under blockade by Israel.
Erdoğan's recent criticism of Israel has drawn strong support in the
Arab world.
From: Baghdasarian