Tag: Gul

  • Turkey Downplays WikiLeaks Revelations of US Distrust

    Turkey Downplays WikiLeaks Revelations of US Distrust

    ANKARA (Combined Sources)–Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday commented on the release by WikiLeaks of dozens of classified U.S. diplomatic cables that raise a series of concerns by US diplomats and State Department officials over an increasingly unreliable Turkey, the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review reported.

    gul

    Speaking to reporters before departing for Kazakhstan for an OSCE Summit, Gul went on to assert that he believes WikiLeaks is systematically working toward a specific goal, but declined to specify what that goal was. The Turkish President, however, did not outright criticize the whistle-blower organization, choosing instead to downplay the importance of the leaked cables.

    “When we take into account the effects created so far [by WikiLeaks], I think it has a system. It seems that it has an aim. But it would not be right to say something absolute at this point. We will see what comes and what is published later,” Gul said.

    Ankara, which according to the Guardian has a record 7,918 cables coming from its US Embassy, has remained relatively quiet on the issue, with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refusing to comment on the content of the cables and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu merely saying he his country would have no problem if its own diplomatic communications were disclosed publicly. Davutoglu, however, met on Monday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss this and other issues, according to Hurriyet.

    The cables provide telling insight into Washington’s perception of Turkey’s government over the past eight years.

    The classified documents reveal US displeasure with Turkey on a number of foreign policy issues, from Ankara’s meddling in the Iran nuclear crisis to its role in allowing its citizens to smuggle weapons to al-Qaeda in Iraq. The cables also underscore unease with Turkey’s aggressive use of the Turkey-Armenia protocols to pressure American leaders to block US recognition of the Armenian Genocide and secure a pro-Azerbaijani settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

    A deep suspicion of Turkey is also evident in a number of cables that provide assessments of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party and its leadership. One cable, titled ‘What Lies Beneath Ankara’s New Foreign Policy,” is an assessment by the former US Ambassador to Turkey, James Jeffrey, who speaks of a hidden agenda to “Islamize” the entire country and pursue a “neo-Ottomanist foreign policy.”

    Another leaked cable provides a scathing assessment about Prime Minister Erdogan’s frequent outbursts against Israel. The memo is on a conversation between Jeffrey and Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy, in which Erdogan’s posturing on Israel is attributed to his deep hatred of the Jewish state on religious grounds.

    Other cables describe the personal attributes of and relationships between government members, from Erdogan, to Gul, to Davutoglu.

    When asked by reporters to comment on the startling revelations found in the cables, Gul emphasized that the U.S. diplomats’ evaluations of Turkey were the personal opinions of those who served in the country. The documents reflect personal opinions about incidents and figures in Turkey by U.S. diplomats at different levels, he said, according to Hurriyet.

    “Just as you evaluate things and people every day, they, too, evaluate and send [these opinions] to their headquarters,” Gul was quoted by Hurriyet as saying. “Some of them may be true and some of them wrong. This should be understood first.”

    According to Hurriyet, Gul also added that nothing could affect the friendship between Turkey and Azerbaijan, whose president, Ilham Aliyev, was quoted in the cables criticizing Erdogan’s government and saying that he was trying to keep Turkey from becoming an energy hub.

    Asked to comment on documents that claimed he had come into conflict with Erdogan, Gul said the allegations would not affect their work together.

    “There are some [allegations] about Turkey… They can’t harm the importance we place on the political power in Turkey and our old friendships,” Gul was quoted by Hurriyet as saying. “There are also some about me and the prime minister. They don’t prevent us from working shoulder to shoulder for Turkey.”

    via Turkey Downplays WikiLeaks Revelations of US Distrust | Asbarez Armenian News.

  • Turkish President Says Wikileaks Reports Can Cause Lack Of Confidence In Relations

    Turkish President Says Wikileaks Reports Can Cause Lack Of Confidence In Relations

    Turkey’s president said on Tuesday that documents leaked on Wikileaks web-site could cause lack of confidence in relations.

    301110 gulAbdullah Gul said Wikileaks reports were somehow a psychological thing, and it was so normal for such documents to cause lack of confidence.

    “Therefore, every one should be careful about what s/he says, however what I have seen so far is personal assessments and observations of American diplomats in different levels,” Gul told reporters before he flew to Kazakhstan.

    Gul said some diplomats were reporting their views to their countries, and great deal of reports about Turkey was in that format.

    President Gul also said leaking out of archives of a country was a thing that country had to think about and pay attention.

    International non-profit media organization, Wikileaks has recently leaked out classified U.S. State Department documents.

    AA

  • Gul ‘Vigorously Committed’ to Turkey-Armenia Protocols

    Gul ‘Vigorously Committed’ to Turkey-Armenia Protocols

    BERN, Switzerland—On Nov. 25, Turkish President Abdullah Gul addressed the Swiss parliament, saying that his country is committed to the protocols, reported Zaman.

    “We maintain our firm vigorous commitment to the protocols, which aim to normalize Turkish-Armenian relationship,” said Gul. “We will continue our efforts so that a sustainable and comprehensive peace dominates the Caucasus,” he added.

    Gul expressed hope that Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian “continues with the same courage so that the process can be crowned with success.”

    The Turkish President sidestepped the fact that Turkey itself  is stalling the so-called “normalization process” with Armenia by not ratifying the protocols.

    Armenian Weekly

  • Turkish president, Gül, wants more Swiss investment

    Turkish president, Gül, wants more Swiss investment

    The Turkish president, Abdullah Gül, wants to see more Swiss businesses investing in his country.

    Speaking to journalists in Zurich after meeting some 20 businessmen on the second day of his official visit to Switzerland, he said Turkey had a solid infrastructure, with important oil and gas pipelines, and was a hub between Europe and Asia.

    Gerold Bührer, president of the Swiss Business Federation, economiesuisse, told the Swiss news agency that the talks with the Turkish representatives had been positive.

    Turkey offers particularly attractive investment opportunities for Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical companies, he said.

    Gül said more than 450 Swiss enterprises were already active in Turkey, and he hoped that more would come.

    “We are doing our best to create the necessary framework for that,” he said.

    Swiss President Doris Leuthard noted that Switzerland would like to strengthen economic ties with the country.

    The Turkish leader also took part in a forum on cleantech and went on a boat tour of Lake Zurich on Friday.

    swissinfo.ch and agencies

  • Turkey Becomes Most Healthy Man Of Europe In Recent Years, President Gul Says

    Turkey Becomes Most Healthy Man Of Europe In Recent Years, President Gul Says

    abdullah gulTurkish President Abdullah Gul said Friday that Turkey was one of the rare countries whose financial institutions made profits in the last three years at a time of global economic crisis.

    President Gul participated in a round table meeting of high level businesspeople and organized by Economiesuisse in Zurich on Friday.

    Speaking at the meeting, Gul said that Turkey was one of the rare countries whose credit rating was upgraded twice at a time of global economic crisis.

    Turkey is the world’s 16th and Europe’s 6th biggest economy. The Turkish economy grew 11 percent in the first six months of 2010. These are reasons why businesspeople should invest in Turkey, Gul stressed.

    Turkey is the country in OECD with biggest growth of economy. With its performance, Turkey is being compared to China. Inflation in Turkey is in single digit and the rate of unemployment continues to decline, Gul said.

    As various experts say, Turkey has become the most healthy man of Europe in recent years, Gul said.

    The value of shares in the Istanbul Stock Exchange continues to go up. In evaluations made by certain credit rating institutions, the Turkish economy is expected to be the second most rapidly growing economy of the world in 2017, Gul also said.

    AA

  • Gul: Occupation Of Azerbaijani Territories May Lead To Unexpected Problems

    Gul: Occupation Of Azerbaijani Territories May Lead To Unexpected Problems

    A part of territories of Azerbaijan is under occupation.

    gul3The occupation of Azerbaijani territories may lead to unexpected problems, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said at a joint press conference with Doris Leuthard, President of Swiss Confederation, in Bern on Thursday, Anadolu agency reports.

    “There are some problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as between Turkey and Armenia. A part of territories of Azerbaijan is under occupation. Many people have become refugees. If this matter is not resolved, some unexpected problems may appear. Everyone should work for solution of the problem”, Gul said, replying to a question on Turkish-Armenian relations.

    APA