Statements by U.S. Officials

Remarks by Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Following Meetings at the Foreign Ministry

Ankara, August 1, 2005

CHARGE: Hi everybody. I am Nancy McEldowney, the Charge D’Affaires at the US Embassy. It is my great pleasure to introduce to you Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Bryza, who is an old friend of Turkey, a man who has been here many times. He has come here to enhance our dialogue, to talk with you and the Turkish authorities.

DAS BRYZA: Thank you very much, Madame Charge. Thank you, friends, for being here with us today. I am thrilled to be back in Turkey. Turkey in many ways feels for me like a second home. I have worked on Turkish affairs and US-Turkish relations for about eight years now, beginning with Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. I think of our experience working with our Turkish NATO allies on that project, and see that as a model for how we hope we can continue to structure our relationship with Turkey. As we worked together to advance that project, we worked as a single team. As Undersecretary Tuygan has just told me – it was a great honor to meet with the Undersecretary – the United States and Turkey have absolutely overlapping strategic interests. There really is not an area we can think of where our strategic interests are not in accord. Sometimes we may have differences over the tactics of the day on a particular issue. But when it comes to our strategic interests, they are fully aligned across the globe. So I want to thank my Turkish hosts for treating me with such honor today. As I said, just now I have met with Undersecretary Tuygan. We have spent the day talking about how to re-energize US-Turkish relations which, again, come from a very sound foundation that has never gone away. Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit seems to have led to a turning point, in a very positive sense, in US-Turkish relations. We feel that the atmosphere of our bilateral partnership, of our strategic relationship, is positive. Now it is time for us to agree more clearly on what we think our shared strategic interests are in terms of priority. What shared strategic interests should we focus on every day? Which issue should we focus our limited resources on? Once we agree on what those issues are, how do we translate those issues into action plans, building on existing working groups, establishing new cooperative mechanisms, and making sure we translate our beautiful words of partnership into actions and shared operational goals? So what are some of those areas we can work on? Of course, we share a strategic vision for the future of Iraq – an Iraq that is unified, that is democratizing, democratic, that is prosperous, and that is free of terrorism -- free of terrorism and free from terrorism emanating from Iraq especially toward our NATO ally, Turkey. We are serious about this commitment. If you were to go back and look at the declaration issued at the Azores Summit back in March of 2003 by President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, Prime Minister Barosso, President Aznar, you will see that we pledged to help develop an Iraq that is free from terrorists or terrorism. So Iraq is one area. Cooperation in the Broader Middle East is another area where we share strategic interests. Our goal here is not to impose a vision of democracy, or to impose freedom on people in the Broader Middle East. Rather it is to help those peoples achieve their own aspirations for freedom. Working in partnership with a unique NATO ally, Turkey, that for 150 years has been embarked upon modernizing, democratizing reform dating back to the Tanzimat period, accelerating under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, again under President Ozal, to the point that Turkey is perhaps the best example in the world of a secular democracy with a predominantly Muslim population. Turkey may not be a model, because of its unique experience. But Turkey is certainly is an inspiring example for countries in the Broader Middle East as well as in Central Asia. So in the Broader Middle East we need to work together, also in the Caucasus, Afghanistan, where Turkey is playing such an important role, and of course we need to work together to help Turkey realize its European aspirations. We seek to help Turkey anchor itself in Europe. Part of that process is working together to facilitate a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem. So I have spoken enough. I thank you for welcoming me here. I can’t spend enough time in your beautiful country. I hope to be back soon and often. Thank you for being here.

QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister has raised the possibility of a cross-border operation for Turkey in order to protect its interests against PKK terrorism. Did you talk about this issue? What is your position on that?

DAS BRYZA: Sure. We talked about how we work together to deal with the PKK, including with the Iraqi Government. It is not appropriate for me to talk about specific military actions. I wear a blue suit, not a green one. Our military personnel wear the green suits. But I can say that we talked in a broad sense and in a specific sense about how to accelerate our cooperation trilaterally – the United States, Iraq, Turkey – to eliminate the PKK terrorist threat in Iraq. I am heading back very late tonight via London for Washington to participate in the next round of our trilateral discussions with the Government of Iraq -- Turkey, the United States, and Iraq -- to focus on these very difficult issues. Thank you.

QUESTION: Could you talk about this meeting, about what might be the possible subjects that will be discussed? Also, who will head the delegations?

DAS BRYZA: Sure. If I get back in time I will head the US side – if the plane flies quickly enough. The focus is while we all are working together to deal with the PKK issue and problem within Iraq, what more can we do to facilitate resolution of that problem here in Turkey and in Europe through law enforcement mechanisms. In other words, we are pushing from Iraq. How can we work together with Turkey and Iraq to have a pulling mechanism from Turkey reaching back to the PKK, as we try to divide the PKK problem up into digestible individual pieces. Those pieces involve law enforcement cooperation, tracking down PKK terrorists and their supporters -- their financial supporters in Europe, where I think there is much more to be done in terms of investigations and prosecutions. It involves working together here in Turkey, as I think we have been doing relatively effectively. It involves us coordinating very actively with the Government of Iraq.

QUESTION: How do you see the reports about a PKK office being opened in Kirkuk, near the US Consulate there?

DAS BRYZA: I just heard about this report today. I haven’t had a chance even to go back to the Embassy to consult and make phone calls and find out what the story is. What I can say is that the opening of a PKK bureau or a front party office is contrary to the policy of the US Government, and of the Government of Iraq as I understand it. We jointly view the PKK and its affiliates and its political fronts as terrorist organizations. So they have no place in a free and unified Iraq. They have no place there. What you want to know, of course, is what the next steps will be. I can’t tell you that, because I have to go find out exactly what has happened.

QUESTION: Will the office be closed down?

DAS BRYZA: That is a question for the sovereign Government of Iraq, which I presume it will consider in close consultation with the United States Government, and hopefully with our Turkish friends as well in the context of our trilateral cooperation.

QUESTION: Did you discuss any new initiatives on the Cyprus issue?

DAS BRYZA: We are constantly thinking about how to advance a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem. We are constantly thinking about how we can minimize, reduce, eliminate the isolation of our Turkish Cypriot friends. This is not simply because we seek to reward our Turkish Cypriot friends for voting in favor of the Annan Plan, but because we realize that the best way to facilitate a long term settlement is to raise the economic well-being of Turkish Cypriots so that there are not economic disparities between the north and the south. So this is all part of an integrated plan to advance a Cyprus settlement. But when it comes to the actual negotiations, this is up to Secretary General Annan. He is the leader of this process, and we support him fully. He has said he is ready to reengage as soon as the two sides demonstrate they are willing to reengage as well on the basis of the Annan Plan. The Turkish Cypriot side has made its position on the Annan plan quite clear. So the question now is how do we encourage the Greek Cypriot side to participate in this process. Those discussions are ongoing. Foreign Minister Iacovou was in Washington last week. I spent several hours with him talking about this as did -- much more importantly -- my boss, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. I hope we are coming to a place where the Greek Cypriot side will be ready to specify -- as the Secretary General has asked – the priority objections the Greek Cypriot side has with the Annan Plan. Thank you. Last one.

QUESTION: When will the three-way meeting take place in Washington?

DAS BRYZA: Hopefully, Wednesday or Thursday. So this week, just in a couple of days. Thank you very much.