speeches

Ambassador  Edelman's Discussion with Journalists Following a Meeting with the Foreign Minister

Ankara, Turkey, September 1, 2004

Ambassador Edelman: Good afternoon everybody. I just had a very routine discussion with the Minister. I’ve been away for part of the summer, and he, of course, is going to be going later in September to the U.N. General Assembly session. So I thought it would be useful if he and I could sit down and go over a range of issues -- both bilateral and multilateral – that are likely to come up in the context of the U.N. General Assembly session. We had a very good, broad discussion. I’m very grateful to him for giving me the time to sit down and discuss those issues. I’ll be happy to take a couple of questions.

Question: Did you also discuss the (inaudible) losses in Iraq, the Turkish losses, and what could be done?

Ambassador Edelman: We did discuss the security situation in Iraq, particularly for the truck drivers and contractors. It’s a very serious situation. Obviously, we regret deeply the loss of life of the contractors whose only reason for being in Iraq is to try to help the country recover and rebuild itself. We have established a mechanism of cooperation with the Ministry, and we have been working with our colleagues in both Baghdad and Washington to try to address this issue. I have also -- not just today, but earlier -- met with representatives of the Turkish Truck Drivers Association and business representatives, including some of the major sub-contractors working in Iraq. We are all trying to work to the same end, which is to improve the security situation for everybody.

Question: For September, during the General Assembly, could we foresee a meeting between Secretary Powell and the Foreign Minister?

Ambassador Edelman: It’s possible. The Secretary’s schedule has not been set yet. I know that they will have, certainly, some meetings in common, in larger groups. But the bilateral schedule has not been set yet. I know that they will have opportunities to meet and discuss a range of issues.

Question: The Turkish side is expecting some steps to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. I wonder if you could comment on certain concrete steps that could be taken in the near future?

Ambassador Edelman: Well, we have a variety of steps that have already been taken. They relate to meetings and visits and visas. We have also provided some 30 million dollars in economic support funds directly to northern Cyprus. We continue to work on issues related to direct flights and other measures that might help ease the isolation. We don’t have complete answers to those questions yet, but we are continuing to work on them.

Question: When will the situation on the Administration’s proposal on troops (inaudible)…

Ambassador Edelman: The Global Force Posture Review? That actually was not a subject we discussed today. We still have a process ongoing in the United States that has not reached the point of decisions being made yet. General outlines have been discussed, and general directions have been approved, but specifics have not been decided at this point.

Question: Ambassador, if you could elaborate on the Iraq issue. As far as I know, the Turkish side has given you some ways to improve the situation there. I think they were also given to you in written form. Were you able to come up with some concrete measures in response to those requests?

Ambassador Edelman: There are lot of steps that have been proposed or discussed, and I don’t want to get into the specifics of what we are or are not going to do, because I don’t want to provide any information that might allow those security measures to be circumvented.

Question: With respect to the truckers, will escorts be given by the U.S.?

Ambassador Edelman: Well, there are escorts that are provided for certain shipments. Again, I don’t want to get too far into the details, because most of this is still under discussion.

Question: Mr. Putin is going to be in Ankara tomorrow and Friday. Did you discuss (inaudible) any messages that might be (inaudible)?

Ambassador Edelman: In general, I do not comment on the visits of other countries presidents or prime ministers, and I do not see any reason to change in this regard.

OK. Thanks very much.