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Maliki cannot come between us and our Iraqi brothers - Erdogan
Mon 23 April 2012 05:34 GMT 1:34 Local Time
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Erdogan’s distrust for al-Assad and anger for al-Maliki.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Qatar last week for the gathering of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and delivered a speech there.
Erdogan confirmed that the main focus of the talks in Doha had been Syria, and that Turkey and Qatar, which share similar views on this issue, agreed the two countries should coordinate their efforts under the umbrella of the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to find an early resolution to the conflict.
“We do not know how far the current Annan Plan will go,” Erdogan said, referring to the former U.N. secretary-general’s plan for Syria. “The timelines in the plan have not been upheld. At first they said 10 days, then it became 12 days.” The Syrian army had committed itself to pulling back its heavy weapons from cities and towns according to the arrangement worked out in Geneva, Erdogan said. “But where are these to be pulled back to? It is no good to simply pull them back from the streets. They have to return to their barracks; but we see no such intention [on Syria’s part].”
Erdogan also suggested that the latest talks between Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Chinese counterpart indicated that Beijing was also moving to a position on Syria closer to Ankara’s. Erdogan furthermore confirmed that Turkey is working actively to convince Washington to act in a more effective manner on Syria, indicating that this is not just a local matter of concern to Turkey alone, but an international matter.
Erdogan reserved his harshest remarks for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – a key supporter of the Damascus regime - who recently accused Turkey of displaying enmity, not only by interfering in his country’s internal affairs but also by stoking divisions along religious sectarian lines in the region.
Maliki was angered when Ankara backed Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who he accuses of having formed death squads against Shiites, and who has taken refuge in Kurdish Northern Iraq. Maliki was further annoyed at Turkey for allowing al-Hashemi and Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), to meet in Turkey recently.
“We have no intention of interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs. It was Maliki himself who asked Turkey to enter Iraq economically,” Erdogan said. “Others come from 10,000 kilometers away and interfere in Iraq. You go and talk to them. Iran calls you and you go there. But when it comes to Turkey you make these remarks,” he said, referring to the US invasion of Iraq and the close cooperation between Maliki, who is Shiite, and Iran. “It is not important what al-Maliki says. He cannot come between us and our Iraqi brothers. The Iraqi people do not share his views. Al-Maliki should note this very well. His merciless attitude is out of keeping with democracy. He refers to us stoking sectarian trouble. We have no such problem.” Erdogan indicated that it appears that al-Maliki himself has a sectarian problem “in his own inner world.”
Hurriyet Daily News
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Mon 23 April 2012 05:34 GMT 1:34 Local Time
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Erdogan’s distrust for al-Assad and anger for al-Maliki.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Qatar last week for the gathering of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and delivered a speech there.
Erdogan confirmed that the main focus of the talks in Doha had been Syria, and that Turkey and Qatar, which share similar views on this issue, agreed the two countries should coordinate their efforts under the umbrella of the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to find an early resolution to the conflict.
“We do not know how far the current Annan Plan will go,” Erdogan said, referring to the former U.N. secretary-general’s plan for Syria. “The timelines in the plan have not been upheld. At first they said 10 days, then it became 12 days.” The Syrian army had committed itself to pulling back its heavy weapons from cities and towns according to the arrangement worked out in Geneva, Erdogan said. “But where are these to be pulled back to? It is no good to simply pull them back from the streets. They have to return to their barracks; but we see no such intention [on Syria’s part].”
Erdogan also suggested that the latest talks between Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Chinese counterpart indicated that Beijing was also moving to a position on Syria closer to Ankara’s. Erdogan furthermore confirmed that Turkey is working actively to convince Washington to act in a more effective manner on Syria, indicating that this is not just a local matter of concern to Turkey alone, but an international matter.
Erdogan reserved his harshest remarks for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – a key supporter of the Damascus regime - who recently accused Turkey of displaying enmity, not only by interfering in his country’s internal affairs but also by stoking divisions along religious sectarian lines in the region.
Maliki was angered when Ankara backed Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who he accuses of having formed death squads against Shiites, and who has taken refuge in Kurdish Northern Iraq. Maliki was further annoyed at Turkey for allowing al-Hashemi and Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), to meet in Turkey recently.
“We have no intention of interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs. It was Maliki himself who asked Turkey to enter Iraq economically,” Erdogan said. “Others come from 10,000 kilometers away and interfere in Iraq. You go and talk to them. Iran calls you and you go there. But when it comes to Turkey you make these remarks,” he said, referring to the US invasion of Iraq and the close cooperation between Maliki, who is Shiite, and Iran. “It is not important what al-Maliki says. He cannot come between us and our Iraqi brothers. The Iraqi people do not share his views. Al-Maliki should note this very well. His merciless attitude is out of keeping with democracy. He refers to us stoking sectarian trouble. We have no such problem.” Erdogan indicated that it appears that al-Maliki himself has a sectarian problem “in his own inner world.”
Hurriyet Daily News
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