Statements by U.S. Officilas

Remarks by Gordon Gray Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Following Meetings at the Foreign Ministry

Ankara, March 23, 2006

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GRAY:  Good evening.  Thanks to all of you for coming out this evening.  I want to also thank Deputy Chief of Mission McEldowney for hosting my visit.  Thanks also to the Turkish government officials and parliamentarians with whom I met for the time that they have given me.  This my second visit to Ankara.  I have enjoyed both visits, and hope to come back for a third time.  My name is Gordon Gray.  I am a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department.  The reason that I came to Ankara for these talks is that the United States and Turkey are good friends, good allies, and we face many of the same issues and challenges in the Middle East together.  We have a common perspective on those issues.  Therefore it is incumbent on our government, and I would say also on the Turkish government, that we continue this dialogue.  I am very pleased that we were able to do that.  We found a confluence of views which did not surprise me, but it is always good to test the assumption.  I am very pleased to be here, and if you have a moment I can take a question or two.

QUESTION:  What is your expectation in the near future from Turkey with respect to Iran, now that the issue has been taken to the UN Security Council?

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GRAY:  I was very pleased to hear in my meetings today that the United States and Turkey see eye-to-eye on the question of Iran.  It is not surprising that the Government of Turkey, and I am sure the people of Turkey, view a nuclear-armed Iran as a prospect that would be destabilizing not just for the region, but also for the world.  I think there is no question the United States is committed to a diplomatic process to try and solve this issue, and to bring Iran back into compliance with its international obligations.  We have supported the EU-3 process.  We have supported moving forward on this issue in Vienna, at the International Atomic Energy Agency.  Now we are working this issue through the United Nations Security Council.  We are very pleased that Turkey supports this diplomatic track, because it is very important for the Iranian regime to know that this is not a US-Iranian issue, it is not a European-Iranian issue, but it is an issue between Iran and the rest of the international community, of which Turkey is a key regional partner.

QUESTION:  Mr. Khalilzad was authorized to have some talks with Iran on behalf of the US Administration.  First of all, is there a timetable for these talks?  Can Turkey make a contribution to this process?

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GRAY:  Thank you for the question.  That got a lot of attention in the media, including the American media, but the background was not fully presented.  When Secretary Rice gave testimony before our Congress earlier this year, she mentioned that Ambassador Khalilzad was authorized to discuss Iraq with his Iranian counterpart.  I think what made it more newsworthy last week was that Hakim called on the Iranians to enter into those talks.  Then the next day Larijani said Iran would be willing to talk about Iraq with the United States.  What I find very interesting is the timing of this, since this isn’t really news.  The question is why are the Iranians publicizing this when they haven’t availed themselves of the opportunity up to now.  I would submit that the reason is that they are beginning to feel the pressure in New York at the UN Security Council on the nuclear issue, and they are perhaps looking for other ways to deflect attention.

QUESTION:  How about a possible contribution from Turkey to this dialogue?

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GRAY:  I think that if the Iranians decide to pursue the dialogue that has been authorized for Ambassador Khalilzad to hold, it will probably be most fruitful if it is a bilateral discussion.  We have some very serious concerns about their behavior in Iraq. I think the way that Turkey can support this is by making it clear that Iran has obligations -- for example, commitments that it made at the November 2004 conference in Sharm El-Sheikh -- to support Iraq and not to meddle in Iraqi internal affairs.

QUESTION:  If Iran is not convinced through diplomatic means, do you have any demand from Turkey with respect to military action?

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GRAY:  No, we don’t. Turkey is a friend and an ally. We are not making any demands, and I do not want to speculate about possible hypothetical courses of action. We are committed to a diplomatic track. What I heard today is that Turkey fully supports the diplomatic track.  We look forward to working with our friends and allies such as Turkey to convince Iran to come into compliance with its international obligations. Thank you all very much, and again I would like to thank the Government and the people of Turkey for their warm welcome.  I look forward to coming back.  Thank you very much.