Ambassador's remarks and public events

Remarks by Ambassador Ross Wilson Concerning the Visit by Hamas Leaders to Turkey

February 16, 2006, Ankara

Question:  Ambassador, do you believe that Turkey has broken the international consensus regarding Hamas?

Ambassador Wilson:  The important question, and the way to look at the international consensus, is the following:  The international community has a clear idea, to which Turkey has subscribed, that there are certain things that Hamas must do.  It must renounce terrorism; it must disarm its militias; it must recognize the right of Israel to exist; and it must adhere to the commitments that the democratically elected Palestinian Authority has committed itself to.  That’s the way democratic governments work.  Turkey has supported those principles.  Prime Minister Erdogan made remarks when he was in Davos that reflected exactly those issues.  That is the important international consensus.

Question:  There are reports that the Prime Minister has canceled his meeting with Hamas because the United States did not want the meeting to take place.  Can you comment on that?

Ambassador Wilson:  It’s difficult for me to comment on what may have been canceled or what may have been scheduled, because I frankly don’t know.  I guess you can take the Prime Minister’s Spokesman’s remarks at face value, but I can’t elaborate on that.  We were informed late yesterday that Hamas would be coming here.  We talked yesterday, both in Washington and in Ankara, about that.  We had some further discussions this morning.

Question: Are you concerned by the visit of Hamas?

Ambassador Wilson: Our principal concern is that any meeting with Hamas should deliver this same message about abandoning terrorism, recognizing the right of Israel to exist, and adhering to the commitments that the Palestinian Authority has made.  Any meeting has to make clear to Hamas that it has to take these steps to have international legitimacy.

Question:  Do you think this meeting conflicts with the general view of the international community that it is not good to negotiate with terrorists?

Ambassador Wilson:  Turkey has for many years given strong support to the Middle East peace process.  It has had good relationships with Israel and the Palestinians and the Palestinain Authority.  That is important to us.  Second, Turkey has a long, deep, and painful history with terrorism and with international terrorism.  It knows exactly what it means, and knows the importance of how the world deals with terrorists, wherever they may be.  I will come back to my main point.  The most important thing about any meeting, any contacts that take place with Hamas, is the message that gets conveyed.  And that message has to be, and based on what the Turkish Government has state publicly, will be, a message of renouncing violence, recognizing the right of Israel to exist, and adhering to the obligations that the Palestinain Authority has taken on.