Statements by U.S. Officials

CHARGE MCELDOWNEY: Good morning. I want to start by saying hello and welcome to everyone. I am very happy to be here. I am particularly pleased and honored to be joined today by Mayor Gokcek, who has done such wonderful things for the city of Ankara. We are here this morning to open a photo exhibit on a hundred years of friendship between the United States and Turkey. We are very grateful to all of our Turkish friends who donated these photos. We are particularly grateful to the municipality, which has made this exhibit possible by offering us this beautiful space. The purpose of this exhibit is to help bring alive the human component of the relationship that has existed for so long between our two countries. It is designed to show the real people like you and I and all of the others who have contributed to what has become a truly historic friendship and partnership. Since the purpose of this exhibit is about friendship, I want to speak to you very briefly about the nature of that relationship. Between our two countries exist both common interests and shared values. But at the very root of our partnership is a mutual respect and trust. As a representative of the United States Government, it is my great pleasure to express the enormous respect of the American Government for the great Turkish nation, for the Turkish people, and for the many extraordinary things that have been accomplished here in Turkey. We have stood together and faced many difficult challenges. We stood together with our soldiers in the Korean War. We stood together in solidarity throughout the Cold War. And we have forces deployed together around the world. But we also stand together today in facing a more difficult adversary, and that is terrorism. And as we stand together to fight terrorism, I want to state very clearly that there are can be no double standards, and there can be no distinction in the efforts that we together exert to fight this common enemy. Turkey reached out a hand of partnership to the United States after September 11, and we reach out a hand of partnership to Turkey today in the struggle against the terrorist violence that we see from -- and let there be no mistake -- from the terrorist organization, the PKK. So whether the bombing takes place in the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh, the Turkish resort of Cesme, or the capital city of London, Turkey and the United States are united in solidarity. We are united in our determination. We will not have our resolve weakened, and we will not be divided as we work together to end the violence of terrorism and protect the security and safety of our people. So as we stand together it is my hope that the exhibit you see today, which represents the past hundred years of friendship, will in the next hundred years be expanded and strengthened so that there will never be anything that divides us, never anything that weakens our solidarity. It is now a great honor to me to pass this podium to a wonderful leader and a dear friend. Thank you very much.