The role played by Turkey in its region is greatly appreciated by neighboring countries, which have encouraged Ankara to use its clout more for resolving disputes in the area, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday, reported Today'szaman.
Babacan was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a foreign ministerial-level meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), where he stated that many of topics on the agenda of the OIC meeting were related to the geography surrounding Turkey.
Many of the 57-member OIC countries appreciate the role being played by Turkey, Babacan said, adding that Ankara's fundamental foreign policy is based on peace and stability. This stance is well understood by the countries the region, which have also understood that Turkey has no secret agenda concerning the region, the minister, who is also Turkey's chief EU negotiator, added. Babacan emphasized that Turkey's perspective has always been constructive and balanced.
Earlier this week, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu said Arab countries had "very positively" received Turkish mediation in the Israeli-Syrian peace talks, expressing hope that the talks would yield a favorable result.
During a bilateral meeting with Babacan on the sidelines of the OIC meeting in Kampala on Thursday, Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki requested Turkey's mediation for resolving his country's problems with Sudan, diplomatic sources said.
The two African countries have witnessed an escalation of tension in their relations since the Sudanese government thwarted an assault by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement on the capital of Khartoum on May 10. Sudan accused the Chadian government of involvement in the attack and announced the breaking of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The Chadian government has denied any involvement in the attack.
Babacan, meanwhile, during a meeting on Thursday with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Memhood Qureshi, reaffirmed the continuation of Ankara's assistance in resolving the problems between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same diplomatic sources said.
In the spring of 2007 Turkey arranged a meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf, after Kabul accused Islamabad of not doing enough to stop militants from entering Afghanistan from Pakistan. Musharraf was scheduled to pay an official visit to Turkey this month, during which he was expected to have talks with President Abdullah Gül and other senior officials, but he had to postpone it earlier this month. In April, during an official visit to Islamabad, Babacan had said Ankara plans to hold a trilateral summit with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan in June. With confirmation of the postponement of Musharraf's visit, the planned summit will be held at a later date.