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Davutoğlu to go on Mideast tour, including Syria
Davutoğlu told reporters in Montenegro that he is planning to visit Syria as part of his Middle East tour. The Turkish foreign minister is currently in Budva, Montenegro, representing Turkey at a meeting of the heads of state and government of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP).
“We have conveyed our advice openly to the Syrian government behind closed doors. What we wish is the immediate launch of a reform process in Syria and an end to violence. We are ready to do whatever is within our capacity in order to achieve that," he said as quoted by the Anatolia news agency.
Davutoğlu's other stops on his Mideast tour are expected to include Jordan, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Davutoğlu also said he is representing President Abdullah Gül, who could not come to the SEECP summit because of a busy schedule due to the ongoing process of forming a new government in Ankara. He added that Turkey is closely monitoring events in Syria and that wherever he is in the world, one of his “ears listen to the Middle East and Syria.”
He dismissed claims that Turkey is playing both sides and said Turkey is very sincere in what it says. Stressing that Turkey has never had a double agenda, Davutoğlu said this idea is unacceptable, particularly with respect to Syria.
“We have always behaved openly. We have made our recommendations behind closed doors with courage. Messages that we delivered in public were also obvious. A solution that our hearts and minds envision is the start to the reform process with a timetable and an immediate end to the violence. We will continue to do our best for this,” Davutoğlu said.
Speaking about his meetings on the sidelines of the summit, Davutoğlu said he had numerous talks with foreign ministers and heads of state from Balkan countries, largely discussing bilateral relations and trade cooperation. Briefing reporters on his meetings with Serbian President Boris Tadic and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Davutoğlu said he is also planning to tour the Balkans soon with a stop in Belgrade.
Davutoğlu stated that he mainly discussed trade relations between Turkey and Bulgaria with Borisov and that the two countries have agreed to establish a High Level Strategic Cooperation Council. The foreign minister further said he met, for the first time, his Greek counterpart, Stavros Lambrinidis, and that they agreed to hold a High Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting either in July or September.
The Turkish FM also met with Albanian President Bamir Topi and Macedonian President George Ivanov in Budva on Thursday before he departed the country for İstanbul where he had a meeting with his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle.
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