Bush: I Will Keep My Word

In his meeting with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in the White House, U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated the promise, which he had made -in the letter that he sent to Erdogan ten months ago-, that they would not let PKK exist in Northern Iraq. Bush assured Erdogan that U.S. would not accept the demand of Kurds for an ethnic federation in Iraq and that they would terminate PKK in the region. In his letter to Erdogan ten months ago, Bush had stated; We share the sensitivities of Turkey about Northern Iraq. We will work to prevent Northern Iraq from being a haven for terrorists. Erdogan, who arrived in the White House at 18.15, signed the special book, and then met Bush in the Oval Office. First, Erdogan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and his diplomacy advisor and translator Egemen Bagis, met Bush personally for half an hour. Then, the rest of the Turkish mission including, State Ministers Ali Babacan and Kursad Tuzmen, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Adana Deputy Omer Celik, who is also the political advisor of Erdogan, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal, and Washington Ambassador Faruk Logoglu, also joined the meeting. After this meeting, which lasted half an hour as well, Erdogan and Bush had lunch together in the Presidency Residence. Iraq Will Not Be DisintegratedDuring his meeting with President Bush, Prime Minister Erdogan voiced his views about the territorial integrity of Iraq. Erdogan said that a federative structure based on ethnicity or religion would damage prospective democratic Iraq and might disintegrate the country in the future. Bush reportedly assured Erdogan that the ethnic federation demands of Kurds would not be accepted. Bush said; There will be no disintegration in Iraq. Our goal is to establish a peaceful and democratic Iraq. We are working to found an Iraq that would wipe out your concerns. The interesting point of the meeting was that the issue of Turkomans of Iraq was not raised. Bush Is Coming To AnkaraU.S. President Bush said that he would pay an official visit to Ankara in June, when he would come to Istanbul for NATO summit. Meanwhile, Erdogan said that his meeting with Bush pleased him.Â