23 October 2007
The Prime Minister has condemned the recent attacks on Turkish armed forces by separatist group PKK and announced enhanced cooperation with Turkry through a strategic partnership.
Read the transcript
Prime Minister:
Good afternoon. It is a great privilege for me to welcome to London the Prime Minister of Turkey and to say that we have had very comprehensive talks about the major concerns we have, both about what is happening in the region, and also about Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
The first thing I want to say is we condemn absolutely and unequivocally the terrorist violence of PKK, the fact that 12 members of the Turkish Army have been killed, the fact that 8 have now been kidnapped and the fact that civilian violence has resulted as a result of their activities within Turkey is something that the whole world community has condemned over the last few days.
As many of you will know, we have proscribed PKK and organisations acting under its umbrella as far as the United Kingdom is concerned. We are committed to working with the Turkish government on counter terrorism activity so that we can root out these problems and we will continue to work for a diplomatic solution to the problems that exist from within Iraq itself where the Iraqi government and others we believe can play a part in ensuring that there is a proper solution to these difficulties. We will work hard with the Turkish government in trying to help them in this difficult situation in which they are faced.
Can I say that secondly we said to each other that we will support the Turkish accession negotiations to the European Union. We believe that these can, despite some of the difficulties of recent days and weeks, move forward. We believe that at the December Council of the European Union we will be able to reach agreement on the next stage and I am confident that after the discussions I have had with European leaders that this can move forward over the next few weeks and months.
We are signing today a UK-Turkish Strategic Partnership. This for me is an important recognition of the growing trade between our two countries. 1,500 British companies are involved in Turkey, 1,700 British citizens now stay in Turkey, 1.5 million tourists go every year to Turkey. And in the Strategic Partnership today we are proposing a British university in Turkey as a joint project between our two governments, we are proposing greater government-to-government involvement in trade and investment for the future, we are proposing that our Energy Minister works closely to create a stronger energy hub in the region, and we are also proposing that we work together to create secure industrial zones in Basra in Iraq to make possible the economic reconstruction and development of that area.
And so relationships between our two countries are strong, they are strengthening. I have benefited from the discussions that we have had today. I welcome you Prime Minister to London and thank you for coming here and we will continue to work on the issues that I have just listed as absolutely crucial to our country.
Mr Erdogan:
Mr Prime Minister, distinguished members of the press. We have today had an opportunity to discuss in depth some of the issues that concern our relations between Turkey and the UK. First of all I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his hospitality and his invitation to come here to London. Thank you very much. I do believe that within a common vision we shall continue to further strengthen our relations.
As the Prime Minister just mentioned, this Strategic Partnership document has been prepared between Turkey and the UK and I am very happy to announce that we have come to a point where we will sign this document. I think this document indicates the depth and breadth of the cooperation that the two countries have and it provides for future development in this relationship. And as the Turkish side we will continue to work to ensure that we fulfil what is foreseen in the document.
Let me also say that in our discussions today with the Prime Minister we had an opportunity to discuss issues related to terrorism. We have also discussed the European Union and Cyprus. We have seen once again that we share many views, on many of the international issues we share the same view. Our membership to the European Union is a priority for us, it is a priority for us to continue on this path without any hindrance and the United Kingdom to this day has shown very strong support to Turkey’s accession to the European Union. And during my tenure as Prime Minister my distinguished colleague, your predecessor Mr Blair, was always there to help in the most difficult of times and I am sure that we will get the same support from Prime Minister Brown and I have actually seen that in our previous discussion today. With respect to Turkey’s accession to the EU we are determined to accede to the European Union and we will continue to be determined in this process.
With respect to the Cyprus issue, Turkey has shown great effort to find a comprehensive settlement to this problem. If one is sincere one can see and appreciate what Turkey has been trying to do to achieve a comprehensive settlement. We view this issue within the context of the United Nations where we believe a solution must be sought and the solution must be a fair one.
With respect to combating terrorism I would like to underline one point which we share with the Prime Minister. The UK has suffered greatly from terrorism and suffers from terrorism now too, so I think the UK is well positioned to well understand where Turkey is and what Turkey is experiencing. And in our discussions earlier today we have discussed combating terrorism and he has also indicated that he is for fighting terrorism through our joint efforts. Those who know what the scourge of terrorism is do think this way because it is impossible to think in any other way. We know how terrorism can hurt people and we hope that no other country or nation faces similar difficulties and we are always ready to help any others who are faced with this threat and our track record attests to that. Unfortunately the pain we have suffered is only understood or heard after some incidents take place. Up until today Turkey has sincerely contributed to platforms to combat terrorism and we will continue to do that in the future. Of course the safety of the lives of the citizens is the most important responsibility for any government and we must understand here that these problems do not pertain to only a single country because terrorism does not develop only in a single country, terrorism has areas where it reinforces its efforts, other countries, other places which reinforce their efforts and we see how this situation grows in the neighbouring areas, and in our case we see terrorists based in northern Iraq, in Syria, then they were in Iran and in some European countries. And today unfortunately there are those who harbour terrorists and who provide funds to terrorists and we have determined those who are involved in these actions and we communicate this information to the relevant governments with documents. But there are unfortunately times when there are governments who are not sensitive to this issue, who see it fit to send any terrorist leaders that they apprehend to other countries, not Britain and to us. So we are very sad to see these developments because we find it to be very insincere to do that.
Within this framework, on 17 October 2007 the Turkish parliament issued a mandate to the Turkish government for an operation to Northern Iraq, and let me specifically underline here that any such effort would be targeting only the PKK because we have always stood side by side with the Iraqi people who have had in the past quite difficult times. We will continue to support the Iraqi people. We have no calculations whatsoever on the territorial integrity or political unity of Iraq, to the contrary we would like to see Iraq proceed through a democratic process and I want to specifically underline this here.
Another point, the volume of trade between Turkey and the UK has exceeded £6 billion as of 2006 and the number of British tourists coming to Turkey is more than 1.5 million, as the Prime Minister has said before. Additionally the number of British investors in Turkey is around 1,500 and the British nationals who have acquired property, who have settled in Turkey, reached about 1,700 which means that these people constitute an important bridge for further relations between the peoples on both sides.
Taking this opportunity I would like to once again thank my colleague for his invitation.
Prime Minister:
Thank you very much. And I can just refer you to the UK/Turkey Strategic Partnership that we are publishing today and I am very grateful for Prime Minister Erdogan’s remarks about the importance that we both attach to moving forward stronger relationships in the future.
Question:
Prime Minister the consequences of instability in what is at the moment one of the only stable regions of Iraq cannot have been lost both here and at the White House. How concerned are you about the effect of military action in Northern Iraq? And Prime Minister Erdogan can I ask you how long will you stick with the diplomacy, how long until your patience with the PKK runs out? Will it be if they do not return your 8 hostages?
Prime Minister:
Let me be absolutely clear, we unequivocally condemn what PKK has done, both the deaths of the army soldiers, the kidnapping of men and of course the threat and the injuries to civilians. And what we will do is three things: first of all we will proscribe PKK and any organisations associated with it in the United Kingdom; secondly, we will step up our counter terrorism cooperation with the Turkish government to deal with this issue; and thirdly, as far as Iraq is concerned we will step up all the efforts that are necessary so that terrorists cannot move from Iraq into Turkey and do such damage over the mountains. And we support the restraint that has been shown by the Turkish government over recent days in what are very difficult circumstances but we believe that the actions that we are prepared to take internationally gives some support to the Turkish government in these difficult circumstances. Let me just repeat that we will work together to deal with any terrorist atrocities that exist. None can be in any way justified and our determination to work on counter terrorism work with the Turkish government has been enhanced by the events of the last few days. We will step up the efforts together so that we can deal with the terrorist threat that clearly exists.
Mr Erdogan:
I would like to thank the Prime Minister. One of the most important aspects of fighting against terrorism is the psychological aspect of it as well, and here governments must be in a position to well manage that aspect. I don’t know how far the stability exists in Iraq but it seems relatively speaking that the north is more stable than the south of the country and in that circumstance we believe that it is not right to have or to permit terror organisations to base camps in that part of the country because within the framework of international law, to allow a terrorist organisation to go from one’s territory to a neighbouring country is not allowed. And the current situation then, if that happens, gives rise to Turkey’s rights in this case to respond. And to this day I have met the Iraqi central government four times and twice when former Prime Minister Mr al-Jaafari visited Turkey and twice when Mr Maliki visited us. So we spoke of these issues one on one and we have dwelt upon these issues very carefully and we signed a Memorandum with Mr Maliki, and the Ministers of Internal Affairs signed a security agreement, one article of which is still under negotiation and not yet approved by their parliament. But despite all of these developments, of these efforts, we have some expectation with respect to what is to be done about the terrorist organisation in the north and the Iraqi government must know that we can exercise this mandate which we have received from the Turkish parliament at any time. We did establish a mechanism earlier which included Turkey and Iraq and we waited for 14 months for this mechanism to bear fruit, but it did not and we cannot wait forever for this mechanism to yield a result. And so we have to make decisions, our own decisions, and of course in this respect our friends, and the UK is a friend, and it is important to talk with friends and to have a common platform to combat this threat.
Question:
Mr Prime Minister, what was the main principle regarding your policy on Cyprus, as explained today. And to the Turkish Prime Minister, you said Turkey is for resolution of course, are you prepared to take an initiative or to respond positively to an initiative?
Prime Minister:
Well we want a comprehensive solution to the problems that have existed for all too many years and we want to see the stalled UN talks move forward. We believe there is potentially a window of opportunity and that is what I was discussing with the Prime Minister, but our aim is a comprehensive settlement of these difficulties which will make possible a better life for Cyprus, but of course will also make possible a better outcome in Europe as a whole.
Mr Erdogan:
On the issue of Cyprus, we place a lot of importance to discussing this issue within the UN framework. We had requested that Mr Annan initiated an effort to resolve the problem and it was under that initiative that the Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of what was called the Annan plan. The No vote to the plan came from the Greek Cypriots despite the urgings of the international community, the EU. And this was what transpired but the Greek Cypriots were rewarded while the Turkish Cypriots were punished, and the UN Secretary General Mr Annan presented a report to the UN Security Council on 28 May following these referenda which called for a comprehensive and fair settlement and it foresaw a partnership State of equal status. But unfortunately the UN Security Council to this day has not taken this report on and adopted it and I believe in the history of the Security Council there is no report which has been kept shelved for so long, but unfortunately this Annan report is still not discussed. So I think it is not us that must take the initiative, it is the UN Security Council that must take the initiative and the UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-Moon is aware of this, I have spoken with him about this and I have also asked my colleague just a while ago to help in this respect because I believe the UK can do a lot in this.
Question:
Prime Minister Brown you rightly reminded us that the British Government has proscribed the PKK and the related organisations as terrorist organisations. I know that politicians hate the ‘r’ word, but do you now regret as the British government that you have taken so long to do that and during that era you have allowed the PKK to organise here, to collect money here, to make their propaganda via their satellite stations to Turkey to carry out murderous acts there. Do you now regret that it has taken so long? And did you offer any help to your partner, Mr Erdogan, to use your leverage upon the Kurdish leaders, Mr Talabani and Mr Barzani to help kick out the terrorist organisation from northern Iraq?
Prime Minister:
We have taken the action on proscription in a way that is consistent with our law and we have also gone beyond that, and not just PKK but groups related to PKK. So we have taken the action that we are able to take under our own laws and I believe we have done the right thing. But what we have also done, and this is what we have been talking about today, is to step up counter terrorism cooperation, so wherever there are terrorists operating in Europe, in any part of Europe, whenever there are difficulties affecting the country of Turkey as a result of terrorist activity there will be the cooperation that is necessary at a counter terrorism level so that we can both investigate and root out terrorist elements for the future. Both our countries have faced difficulties with terrorists, both our countries are aware of the damage that can be done by the terrorist threat. Turkey is suffering at the moment because of both the kidnapping and the deaths of people in their armed forces. We will work together on counter terrorism activities and I think the message should go out that we will work with our other colleagues in Europe to make sure that there is counter terrorism support for the people of Turkey.
Question:
A question to Mr Brown. You mentioned the PKK as a terrorist organisation. What has happened in Turkey is clear to us all. Have you spoken to the Iraqis or the United States and what sort of concrete steps will you take?
Prime Minister:
We are in constant touch with the United States and we are also in constant touch with the Iraqi government. And I said there were three things that we had to do: one is of course proscribe PKK and related organisations and any related organisations that are operating alongside PKK, we will take further action if necessary; I think the second thing is stepping up the counter terrorist cooperation; and the third thing of course is working with the Iraqi Government, with the Kurdish regional Government and with all others that are involved to see what we can do to stop the spread of terrorist activity outside the borders of Iraq, and these are responsibilities that the whole international community has got to take on board. So I can assure you that we are doing everything in our power, in concert with our allies and with the Government of Iraq, to make sure that there is no safe haven for terrorist organisations in that part of Iraq threatening Turkey.
Question:
Mr Prime Minister, the problem in northern Iraq is moving out of being a PKK problem, it is moving into a Barzani problem. Don’t you think that this is the way it is moving? … Turkey should find a solution to this problem through dialogue, who should Turkey have dialogues with - with the Iraqi government that says that they have got no authority in the north, or the PKK terrorist, or some tribesmen in northern Iraq?
Prime Minister:
I think you should know that there is a considerable amount of diplomatic activity underway. We appreciate the difficulties that the Turkish people now face, we appreciate the terrorist threat that has caused the loss of 12 army soldiers, that has led to the uncertainty of eight men being kidnapped, and of course the number of civilian injuries and deaths also. And so we appreciate the frustration and also the anger that exists within Turkey about what is happening. We believe that action within Iraq, with the Iraqi Government, working with our allies, including the United States of America, is a necessary means by which we can deal with this problem. I don’t want to draw the conclusions that you are drawing at the moment but what I can say is that we are aware that action has got to be taken to prevent groups moving from Iraq into Turkey and threatening the lives of Turkish citizens and we will be resolute in our determination to support the Turkish government in making sure that these terrorist groups cannot operate successfully from within Iraq.
Mr Erdogan:
I would like to make a comment here. No doubt we talk to the Iraqi central government, they are the ones we speak to. Whether or not the Iraqi central government has some influence in the north or not, irrespective of that fact there is a central government, there are also coalition forces in Iraq and so far the mechanism that we had established in fact was a mechanism that was established within that framework. There are political dimensions, there are political and diplomatic dimensions and we have done a lot in that respect. From this point forward we are also looking at the military dimension because the military dimension is an important dimension in this formula and that is why on 17 October we asked for a mandate from the Turkish parliament. And we hope that our friends will understand our position and that we will if necessary, or if the time arrives, use the rights that we have. This is not going to be done based on some provocation or some demand by this or that group or people, but we are a government and we must manage the situation, which we will, and we have to take into consideration the prosperity of our people, the indivisibility of our country, these are the basis of our actions and if necessary we take any steps that are required.
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