“We are making every effort to rescue the staff of our consulate in Mosul”

President Abdullah Gül responded to queries from the press about the current developments in Iraq, Mosul and Egypt during his domestic visit to the city of Kırklareli.

President Abdullah Gül, during his visit to the governorate of Kırklareli, shared his evaluations as to the recent developments in Iraq, Mosul and Egypt.

CURRENT EVENTS IN MOSUL, IRAQ

President Gül: “We are all saddened by the ongoing incidents in Iraq and Syria due to the agonies and devastations in these countries. When a vacuum is left in the region, it is filled by radical organizations. It is also a responsibility of the international community to struggle against these groups to prevent them from spreading. To make it worse, these incidents are turning into a sectarian clash and civil war. There are our relatives including the Turkmen and Kurdish people in these countries. We had carried out studies and made our warnings before against the potential threats that are emerging now. However, different groups are fighting against each other in a great turmoil in which one cannot really recognize who is who. Therefore, one must approach this issue with an utmost care. Our first priority is to keep our country away from these events, maintain our security and to prevent any negative events from reverberating in our country. Any fire burning in a regional country influences all its neighboring countries, thus creating problems in security and other areas. All our relevant departments including diplomats and security and intelligence officials are in close coordination, making great efforts in this direction. It is also a responsibility of the international community to struggle against these radical groups to prevent them from spreading.”

“EGYPT AND TURKEY HAVE ENJOYED FRATERNITY THROUGHOUT HISTORY”

“Turkey and Egypt have enjoyed fraternity throughout history and they are like two peas in a pod. What occured in Egypt was really saddening for us, as there are still many people in prison and an elected government was ousted through a coup d'état . We went through similar events Turkey 3 decades ago, but we were able to resume democracy without much harm at the shortest time possible. We hope that our sister country, Egypt, can establish a real democracy at the shortest time as well. We also wish that those in prison be released and that the normalization process be accelerated in Egypt. The Turkish and Egyptian peoples are brothers and this amity will continue in a strong way.

SITUATION OF TURKMEN PEOPLE IN IRAQ

 “I would like to underline once again that all the relevant officials are doing whatever is necessary to bring back the staff of our consulate in Mosul. Our first priority is to achieve this. Another crucial matter for us is the situation of our Turkmen brothers and sisters who have been caught in crossfire there. The Turkmen people in Iraq are loyal citizens of that country. Turkey has always been interested in the future and situation of its kins living abroad and it always attaches utmost importance to the safety and happiness of its relatives in other countries. We do not want our Turkmen brothers and sisters harmed in crossfire in Iraq, so we are doing and will do everything we can lest such a thing happen.”

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