Gül: Turkey is not Iran
Güncelleme Tarihi:
During a television program, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül gave his evaluation of a recent meeting in Istanbul that was attended by Iraqi Sunni groups.
"The meeting was organised by non-governmental organisations, not by the government", Gül said. "Some seem to forget that Turkey is democratic country with a developed system of civil society. They regard Turkey as they would do Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Members of the Iraqi Government and the Coalition were also present at the meeting."
Kurdish-Shiite Alliance
Iraqi Kurds are, for their part, using the meeting in Istanbul as a means to deteriorate Turkey's relations with Shiites. Meanwhile, a meeting organised by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with the aim of determining who will make the pilgrimage to Mecca was presented with the title, 'Neighbouring countries of Iraq', and it was made clear that Turkey was not invited. Member of the High Council for Iraqi Islamic Revolution, Ammar el Hekim, said, "The meeting in Mecca has been organised as an alternative to the meeting where Sunnite groups with connections to the terrorist Al Qaida were present in Istanbul. We deliberately did not invite Turkey because she freely allowed such groups to meet in Istanbul."