The Prime Minister said operations would continue against any groups threatening Turkey's security, peace and harmony. "If some camps at the cross-border threaten our borders, country and citizens, an operation becomes a legitimate right for us at an international level. We can use this right if necessary. We would debate and then take the necessary steps. If an operation is required, then we would launch it," Erdogan announced.
We were flying from Sochi to theTurks ancient land, Mongolia. Prime Minister Erdogan shared 15 minutes with each correspondent for interview since we had many miles to travel to the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. We began our short talk with Erdogan on the topic of Russia. Has Russian President Putin signaled for gestures on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)? The Russian leader made statements in line with Turkey's theses in January but he had not put them into action. Erdogan response to this question, "I saw Mr. Putin as more committed. He will have a meeting with the permanent representative at the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Putin told us he supported UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's views on the issue. We shall wait and see."
Some interpret Turkey's close relations with Russia as an alternative to the EU and US. Erdogan harshly rejects this interpretation. He says: "I find this interpretation wrong. We are not in search of producing second or third axis alternatives," adding that Turkey has never had such an agenda.
Explaining that the AKP's foreign policy understanding aims to gain friends, develop relations and unite publics, Erdogan touched upon the Civilizations Alliance project, in which Turkey will act as co-president along side Spain, "We are in favor of dialogue among civilizations. We never want a clash among civilizations. In the joint study that are carrying out with the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, we were commissioned, as two prime ministers, to establish dialogue among civilizations with the approval of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan. We want to spread this study's results to the world. A leader of a country that thinks in this way does not need to search for alternatives." Erdogan told.
The Prime Minister prefers not to talk about the domestic political issues with tensions running high with the Council of Higher Education (YOK). There is a prominent increase in the activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is the hottest issue on the agenda. Erdogan suggesting that the general amnesty demands for the PKK was not possible also reminded that repentance law did not see the expected interest. Turkish Prime Minister said operations will continue as long as the formation threatening peace and security continued in the country. Informing that the PKK and its supporters sent letters and news of concern about operations in the southeast Anatolia, Erdogan emphasized that the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) recently voiced the same demand as well: "Operations are not only held for peace. Operations will continue when there is a doubt or denunciation. Not providing any opportunity for terrorism is the main goal. We should work side by side to end this process completely."
If border passages do not stop and terror increases its severity, will Turkey conduct an operation towards Northern Iraq? Erdogan replied: "If some cross-border camps threaten our borders or different formations threaten our borders, country and people, an operation becomes an international legitimate right for us. We will measure all these and take the necessary steps. When necessary, we may conduct an operation." The Prime Minister formerly made similar remarks on the issue and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US, Richard Myers told the legitimate Iraqi government was the addressee of the issue. Iraqi Internal Minister Bayan Jabr sent the message that any operation cannot be held without their permission. Erdogan reveals with his current remarks that he stands behind his words. "We had told the Iraqi Prime Minister [Ibrahim] Jaafari during his Turkey visit to be in solidarity against PKK terror," Turkish Premier responds Myers.
Noting that they launched projects on transportation, education and public housing taking into consideration the socio-economic nature of the region, the Turkish Prime Minister said that the incentive law had been issued mainly for the region's welfare and that they would handle the region through regular reassessment. Indicating that the PKK did not represent Kurdish citizens but rather exploited them he said they would not allow any discriminative act to occur. He reminded of the liberalizing advances made during their government, the legalization of Kurdish language education and the legalization of broadcasting in Kurdish, while admitting that there are still things that remain to be done, Erdogan noted that they viewed the Republic of Turkey citizenship as the antidote of all the problems. However, he also indicated that Turkey's red lines were clearly drawn and that they would in no way allow Turkey to disintegrate. Neither would the government allow any unbalancing among Turkey's regions Erdogan added, and that for this reason they focused their efforts on infrastructure.
The Prime Minister expressed his disapproval of the use of separatist terror incidents as a material of domestic politics. The opposition exploits the issue in violation of political ethics. "This is our common problem. Some say we can solve this problem in a week'. Swaggering is of no use. You had been in office for years. What did you solve then?" Erdogan also hinted at a consultation with other party leaders on the issue of separatist terror in the days to come.
