Ambassador's Remarks
Ambassador Ross Wilson Interview with NTV
June 14, 2007
Question: …And how do you see this, how do you comment about it?
Ambassador Wilson: I’ve seen the press reports about the so-called, “security summit”, and I’ve seen the statement that the Prime Minister’s office put out afterwards. I’ve read, last night and to some extent this morning, press accounts of this buffer-zone idea. I don’t know very much about it, and I think, as a general rule, I try not to comment too much about things I don’t know the details of.
Question: O.K. you have said here that when Turkey is defending itself, you are supporting the self-defense of Turkey. At the last days we see that there are many terror attacks and the people are really angry. There was many problems [inaudible]. How is the United States looking at this, I mean will it make a new - ?
Ambassador Wilson: First, we’re deeply saddened by these attacks, and we give all of our condolences to the Turkish people regarding them, and certainly to the families of the victims. We abhor and we condemn the PKK; we abhor and we condemn the violence that the PKK carries out in this country and anywhere that it is active; we want to work closely – and we are working closely – with the authorities of this country, to try to help Turkey to combat PKK terrorism, both in terms of its activities here, its fundraising activities in Europe, and also with respect to northern Iraq. We want to work as closely as we can with the authorities in Iraq, as well as with Turkey, and to try to develop – with Turkey and Iraq – a strategy to help to ensure that northern Iraq is not a base from which terrorists can supply, or plan, or launch attacks against this country.
Question: And today, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Mr. Zebari, said that if Turkey wants a solution to this problem, and all the problems concerning Iraq, he offered that there can be a three commission, combining United States, Iraq and Turkey, that can meet together and solve the problems. How does Washington look to this offer, I mean?
Ambassador Wilson: Well, I’m not familiar with the specific remarks of Foreign Minister Zebari. We have talked – as I have just indicated – for a long time, about trying to re-activate and make productive, an existing U.S. – Turkey – Iraq mechanism, to deal cooperatively and on a trilateral basis – but especially a bilateral basis – with some work we can do to facilitate, to deal with the PKK issue. We have had discussions with the Turkish authorities, on ways to get those discussions – the trilateral process – re-started. We’ve had some discussions with the Iraqi authorities about that. We’re not quite there yet. If Mr. Zebari is pointing to progress to get those talks started, I think we would be very happy.
Question: And last thing: Prime Minister Erdogan. Yesterday, he indicated that he’s against an operation into Iraq, first we better deal with the people inside Turkey, and then maybe go there. How do you see it? Because there’s great pressure on the government to go to Iraq.
Ambassador Wilson: Well, Secretary Rice has spoken, I think, on this issue, or at least on the issue of possible action across the border into Iraq, and I don’t really have much to add to her remarks. As I said earlier, we condemn the PKK, we condemn what they’re doing, we want to work closely with Turkey and with the authorities in Iraq to deal with this problem and end this problem. And we support Turkey’s work in that direction.
Question: Thank you very much.
Ambassador Wilson: O.K. Thank you.