Anti-US Shiite cleric attends talks in Ankara
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Fulya Özerkan
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 02, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a symbolic figure of the Shiite resistance, met with Turkish officials Friday for political consultations ahead of the December parliamentary elections in Iraq.
The visit is part of Turkey's policy of seeking dialogue with all political and religious factions in Iraq to promote reconciliation and stability, diplomatic sources told the Hürriyet Daily News.
After the local elections in January, neighboring Iraq is now heading toward parliamentary polls, and Ankara is urging Iraqi ethnic and religious groups to actively participate in their country's politics.
Some news reports claimed that al-Sadr, who is believed to be based in Iran as he is on the coalition forces’ wanted list in Iraq, was secretly brought to Turkey on a special plane and was accompanied by a Turkish intelligence team. Diplomatic sources denied the reports and said the visit was confirmed earlier and that the Shiite leader's meeting with the prime minister was not a secret. Turkish special envoy to Iraq Murat Özçelik was present at the al-Sadr and Erdoğan meeting.
After wrapping up talks in Ankara, al-Sadr will travel to Istanbul to chair a meeting of Shiite groups. "The Istanbul meeting has nothing to do with us," said a Turkish diplomatic source. "We want to see a democratic, prosperous, stable Iraq with which we could maintain neighborly relations. This visit should be seen in that regard."
A past meeting of Iraq's resistant Sunni groups in Istanbul drew negative reactions from the United States. Though not involved in the meeting, Turkey was criticized for providing the logistics for such a gathering.
"The U.S. government is supporting the government of Iraq’s efforts to convince armed extremists to lay down their arms and join the Iraqi democratic process. These meetings in Turkey can help convince Moqtada al-Sadr to support the government of Iraq efforts," Kathy Shallow, spokeswoman of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, told the Daily News. "We would welcome that."
According to sources, the right messages delivered by Turkish officials to the Shiite leader and efforts to encourage him to be a part of the democratic process in Iraq would play a constructive role, similar to what the United Staets said about meeting with Syrians, Iranians or Hamas.
After the local elections in January, neighboring Iraq is now heading toward parliamentary polls, and Ankara is urging Iraqi ethnic and religious groups to actively participate in their country's politics.
Some news reports claimed that al-Sadr, who is believed to be based in Iran as he is on the coalition forces’ wanted list in Iraq, was secretly brought to Turkey on a special plane and was accompanied by a Turkish intelligence team. Diplomatic sources denied the reports and said the visit was confirmed earlier and that the Shiite leader's meeting with the prime minister was not a secret. Turkish special envoy to Iraq Murat Özçelik was present at the al-Sadr and Erdoğan meeting.
After wrapping up talks in Ankara, al-Sadr will travel to Istanbul to chair a meeting of Shiite groups. "The Istanbul meeting has nothing to do with us," said a Turkish diplomatic source. "We want to see a democratic, prosperous, stable Iraq with which we could maintain neighborly relations. This visit should be seen in that regard."
A past meeting of Iraq's resistant Sunni groups in Istanbul drew negative reactions from the United States. Though not involved in the meeting, Turkey was criticized for providing the logistics for such a gathering.
"The U.S. government is supporting the government of Iraq’s efforts to convince armed extremists to lay down their arms and join the Iraqi democratic process. These meetings in Turkey can help convince Moqtada al-Sadr to support the government of Iraq efforts," Kathy Shallow, spokeswoman of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, told the Daily News. "We would welcome that."
According to sources, the right messages delivered by Turkish officials to the Shiite leader and efforts to encourage him to be a part of the democratic process in Iraq would play a constructive role, similar to what the United Staets said about meeting with Syrians, Iranians or Hamas.