President Gül Shares His Evaluations about the Agenda
05.03.2014
President Gül, holding a joint press conference with President Komorowski of Poland, responded to queries from the press as to the current agenda including the recent events in Ukraine and the instructions for investigation he gave to the State Supervisory Council (DDK) on domestic issues.
President Abdullah Gül, holding a joint press conference with President Bronislaw Komorowski of Poland, responded to queries from the press.
Question: Mr. President, you said that you and President Komorowski of Poland share the same views on the current events in Ukraine. I would like to have a more concrete answer from you on that issue. What support can Turkey and Poland lend in this regard?
President Gül: “Among the hottest issues in the world are those which we are witnessing in Ukraine and the Crimea as well as the human tragedy in Syria. As two allies in NATO and as neighbors in Europe, we have had a chance today to discuss the ongoing events in Ukraine. Turkey, the Russian Federation and Ukraine are neighbors through the Black Sea. Therefore, any developments emerging in terms of security and stability in this region concern these three countries in the first degree. In this context, Turkey is closely following the events in that country. We therefore sent our Foreign Minister to Ukraine right after the administrational change made in the Parliament, and we thus became one of the first countries to go and make contact there. We believe that Ukraine, with which Turkey has a strategic relationship, and its political and territorial integrity are of great importance. We also underscore the significance that the current problems in Ukraine should be solved within the framework of international law.”
As for the Crimea, it is an autonomous republic, but it is also within the political and territorial integrity of Ukraine. When we look at the population of the Crimea, there are many Ukrainian citizens of Russian origin and there are also many Muslim, Tatar and Ukrainian citizens, with all of whom Turkey has special relations. These facts demonstrate that the Crimea has ethnic, religious and cultural diversities.
I believe that there can definitely be a way that will enable all of these people as Ukrainian citizens, who respect their ethnic, religious and cultural differences, to live in peace without any threat posed to them. Everyone must pay utmost attention to this.
Turkey wholeheartedly wishes that these incidents can come to an end through dialogue without further tension, as a new cold war era would be dangerous for all and it would not be in anyone’s interest at all. Conforming to international law is a must to prevent such a threat.
Q: Mr. President, Prime Minister Erdoğan had made a statement that your and his communications were illegally monitored. Do you have any data about this issue? Did the Prime Minister’s statement urge you to give DDK the instructions for investigation? Have you taken additional precautions regarding this issue or has research been made toward this issue at the Çankaya Presidential Palace?
President Gül: “I have given instructions for investigation to DDK about important issues on the agenda before, and I have shared the outcomes of these investigations with the public. As for my current instructions for investigation, you all know about the ongoing discussions pertaining to communications monitoring, corruption allegations, city financing and construction projects and training of career civil servants. I have given DDK instructions for investigation on all these issues to conduct the necessary examination, checking what deficiencies there are, what measures should be taken and what changes are to be made in the relevant laws if needed so that such problems and complaints do not recur. About the communications monitoring, there is no such thing as wiretapping in my office. The necessary precautions have already been taken against that problem. However, the Prime Minister told me about audio surveillance which is sometimes conducted.”
