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Abdulla Gul: I am proud of Azerbaijanâ€™s development

01 November 2007 17:25 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan is a country which attracts attention of the whole world. Economics is strengthening, democracy is developing. Of course, there can be several problems, but no country solves problems in a day. I see that Azerbaijan is developing. Country media write what they want, political figures express their opinions freely. All these will strengthen Azerbaijan. Democracy should be strengthened in Azerbaijan. It will give an impetus on informing world community about Nagorno Karabakh conflict well. I am proud of Azerbaijanâ€™s development, Turkish President Abdulla Gul said in an interview to a group of Azerbaijani media representatives in Ankara today. Turkish president speaking about Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline stressed that this project becomes true.
â€œWe are about to open Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. We also start construction of Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi railway. We do not speak, we work. This railway will extend till Kazakhstan and China. We will always help in the implementation of these projects. We pay attention to security issues while preparing projects. There was not threat against pipelines till now. But we will continue taking measures beforehand,â€ he said.
Abdulla Gul noted that fighting against terrorism is priority for Turkey.
â€œThis issue was largely debated. We attach great importance to Iraqâ€™s borders. We do not need Iraqâ€™s oil and gas. Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds in Iraq are our brothers, we have no problems with them. If there is terror in Iraq, it should be thwarted. Everybody should cooperate against terrorism. We will not keep away from military operations, but there is time for everything. Operations are being carried out in some of our regions. We can organize operations in terrorist camps in Iraq,â€ he said.
Commenting on the visit of Turkish Prime Minister and Army General Ergin Saygun to Washington, Abdullah Gul said they have great expectations from the visit.
â€œPrime Minister has advisers on military issues, commanders express their opinion to the Prime Minister. Prime Ministerâ€™s military advisers accompany him during the visits to foreign countries. This is a very important visit. You know I had talks with the US officials. Prime Minister and ministers also had talks. This is one of the important visits connected with Turkeyâ€™s future steps in fighting against terrorism. The US invaded Iraq. According to the UN statute, there are issues in Iraq, for which the US is responsible. The US can not say that fighting against terrorists in Baghdad and Al-Ambar is its duty, and fighting against terrorists in Northern Iraq is not its duty. The US can not say it. It is responsible for the whole situation in Iraq and is obliged to fight against terrorists all over the country. The US will either fight, or say â€œI discriminate terroristsâ€. And it means that the US fights against one terrorist organization and does not fight against another. The Prime Ministerâ€™s visit to the US is important for making all these issues clear. It should not also be forgotten that the US recognizes PKK as a terrorist organization. Therefore we attach great importance to this visit,â€ he said. /APA/