Speeches

Remarks by Ambassador Eric S. Edelman After His Meeting With Ali Coskun, Minister of Industry

Ankara, Turkey, December 23, 2003

Ambassador Eric Edelman: I'm not going to make any formal statement other than to thank the Minister for seeing me. This is the last of my courtesy calls on the members of the Government. We had a very good and constructive discussion about U.S.-Turkish economic relations, and what we might do in anticipation of the Prime Minister's visit and the summit to take them to an appropriate level. 

Q: (inaudible)

Ambasssador Edelman: The President is coming for a NATO summit, and he will be here in June.

Q: (inaudible)

Ambassador Edelman: We're still in discussions about exactly what the full schedule of the President's visit will be. But he will be here in June.

Q: (inaudible)

Ambassador Edelman: I've read the New York Times article, and I think if one reads it very closely there is nothing in it that should be terribly surprising to anyone. Iraq is now in the early stages of a process of writing a constitution. It stands to reason that representatives of various communities and interests are seeking to get the best possible circumstances for their constituents. But what strikes me as most important is that everybody is having this discussion in the very clear context of a politically unified, territorially whole Iraq. That is an interest that the United States and Turkey share, and I believe that is going to be the final outcome.

Q: (inaudible)

Ambassador Edelman: I think it is going to be for Iraqis to determine exactly what the structure will be. But I am confident that we will end up with a unified Iraq. That's the interest that everybody in the region has.

Q: (inaudible)

Ambassador Edelman: I haven't seen the details on the KDP-PUK agreement, so I really don't want to comment on that.

Q: Where are we on the qualified industrial zones?

Ambassador Edelman: The Minister and I actually discussed this. It's a proposal that has obviously been around for a bit of time. It is something that was discussed at the Economic Partnership Commission meeting that was chaired the beginning of this month by Undersecretary Larson and Undersecretary Ziyal. We are working together on ways that we can move forward, and are continuing to discuss that. I hope that it will come to fruition, and both the Minister and I expressed the view that we hoped it would come to fruition.

Q: (inaudible)

Ambassador Edelman: Well the problem is, on the U.S. side we have to find the proper legislative vehicle and get it through the Congress. That will take a bit of time and a bit of doing, but I'm hopeful that we will get there. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Minister.