TURKEY diplomacy
Erdoğan invites Assad for vacation in Turkey
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News | 7/13/2005 12:00:00 AM |
In a move that may anger the United States, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has invited Syrian President Bashar Assad for a vacation in Turkey
In a move that may anger the United States, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has invited Syrian President Bashar Assad for a vacation in Turkey later this month as his guest, Erdoğan's spokesman said yesterday.
The invitation comes despite U.S. pressure to isolate Syria, which it says is supporting the insurgency in Iraq and suppressing democratization in Lebanon. The Turkish policy of cultivating good ties with Syria has strained relations between Turkey and the United States, with some in Washington questioning Ankara's foreign policy direction in the Middle East.
Erdoğan's spokesman, Akif Beki, said the visit was part of the prime minister's efforts to encourage the process of democratization in the Middle East. Asked whether Assad's visit would unnerve the United States, Beki said: The prime minister has no worries about this. His policy has been very clear from the outset. Turkey sees expansion of stability and welfare and strengthening of peace in the Middle East as important. … This (visit) should be seen as a continuation of efforts to this end.
Erdoğan visited the United States in June and said that after meeting with President George W. Bush in the White House the strategic partnership between the two countries had been reaffirmed. He also said Turkey shared the same vision with the United States over its plans to encourage democratization in the Middle East and North Africa.
Turkey believes democratization in the region as part of the Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative is important. The prime minister has conveyed important messages to that effect and he will continue to do so, said Beki, adding, Therefore, the prime minister sees it as necessary and compulsory to improve contacts with the regional countries to encourage their democratization processes.
The issue of how to treat Syria was reportedly a source of friction between Erdoğan and Bush in their meeting last month. Erdoğan is promoting dialogue, rather than pressure, to convince Syria to harmonize its policy with that of the United States.
It was not immediately clear if the two leaders would be vacationing together. Beki said Assad's visit would take place towards the end of this month but said the sides were still working on a date.
On a bilateral front, Turkey won effective Syrian support in its fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after the two countries achieved drastic rapprochement in their relations over the past few years.
Talks with Putin, Karamanlis:
Beki also said Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis would pay an official one-day visit to Turkey in late August and would later also vacation here as Erdoğan's guest. The main parameter of the prime minister's foreign policy is not to produce enemies but to gain friends, Beki said. The visits of both Karamanlis and of Assad are private. They are visits they will make as guests of the prime minister with the purpose of resting.
An official from the Greek prime minister's office said the Greek side had proposed a schedule of Aug. 22-23 and were expecting a response from Turkey, Agence France Presse said. It may alternatively take place on Aug. 23-24.
The official, however, said the office did not know about the holiday plans, noting that Karamanlis at present did not intend to take a summer vacation.
Erdoğan officially invited Karamanlis to Turkey on July 3, during a ceremony held on the Greek-Turkish border to mark the launch of a joint pipeline project bringing natural gas from the Caucasus to Western Europe.
This Sunday, Erdoğan is heading to Sochi, Russia, for a private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russian leader's invitation.