Turkish foreign minister says Turkey supports democratic transformation in the Middle East, but ways to secure political change was as much important as the task itself
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday delivered a speech in a conference on “Turkey’s Policies for Engagement in the Contemporary World” in Istanbul, co-hosted by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the British think-tank, Wilton Park.
Davutoglu said on Saturday that Turkey wanted to create a new region based on friendship, good neighborhood and integration.
Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey’s target was not to have only two or three sovereign countries in its region in 2023–when the Turkish Republic would celebrate the 100th anniversary of its foundation.
“Every person is equal in this region, and we are sharing the same geography,” he said in a Wilton Park conference on “Turkey’s polices for engagement in the contemporary world” in Istanbul.
Davutoglu said Turkey wanted a comprehensive security, stability and freedom in 2023.
Also, the minister said Turkey was eager to become a full member of the European Union (EU), but at the same time it wanted to boost its relations with the Middle East, Russia and the United States.
Davutoglu said Turkey was also willing to become an active power in its geography.
“The time has come for a political change and transformation in the Middle East. We want security and freedom at the same time. Turkey will be in service in order to ensure that this difficult task of maintaining security and freedoms is achieved. We should desire for others what we desire for ourselves. In this sense, Turkey supports changes to end that in the transformation process in the Middle East,” Davutoglu told the conference.
Davutoglu said ways to secure political change was as much important as the task itself.
“The method is also very important. Change should come without causing instability. We want change, one which would not give way to political instability but maintain public order,” he said.
AA
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