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U. S. Department of State
Daily Briefing
10/17/2007
QUESTION: Can I have a reaction to the vote in Turkish parliament?
MR. CASEY: Well, I think the President addressed that, in
part. Understand that this vote has taken place. I would note that
many Turkish officials, including senior leadership, have indicated
that this vote does not mean that action will be taken. We certainly
continue to urge Turkish authorities to exercise restraint in terms of
their response to what is a common problem of PKK terrorism in
Northern Iraq. We do not want to see any unilateral military steps
taken, because we don't believe that that will solve the problem. In
fact, we believe it will make it harder to ultimately deal with the
threats and challenges posed.
We'll certainly continue to talk with the Turkish Government and with
Turkish officials, as we move forward in the days ahead. I would note,
as well as the President did, that Iraqi Vice President Al-Hashimi has
been and I believe continues to be in Turkey to have discussions with
Turkish officials on this issue. That's important because again the
real way to resolve this is through dialogue between the Turks and the
Iraqis and in development of a collective and common approach to this
problem. And it is a problem not only for the Turks, but it is a
problem, an acknowledged problem by the Iraqis and certainly it's a
concern for us, too, because we do consider the PKK a terrorist
organization.
QUESTION: Can you give an update on specific diplomatic activities,
specific calls? Has the Secretary made any calls?
MR. CASEY: Well, there are a few things that are out there. The
Secretary, as you know, is on travel and she's not made any additional
calls to Turkish officials on this issue. I do know that our
Ambassador Ross Wilson has been actively engaged with authorities
there in Ankara. Nick Burns remains in contact with the Turkish
Ambassador as well as other officials. And certainly I know Ambassador
Fried -- Dan Fried, our Assistant Secretary for European Affairs -- is
also continuing his engagement.
Although, same officials as well have been working on a related issue,
which is to talk to staff members and members of Congress about our
concerns and our continued opposition to the resolution that recently
passed the committee in the House. We want to make clear to members of
Congress that this resolution is one that is not going to serve the
purposes of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. It's not going to serve
U.S. national interests and, in fact, stands a good risk of harming
our bilateral relations with a country that is a friend and ally and
is vital to our military's efforts in Iraq and elsewhere.
I'm pleased to note and we're pleased to note over the last 24 hours
that there have been a number of members of Congress who have now come
out and publicly stated that they've changed their view and will no
longer be supporting this resolution. Certainly, we would hope that
trend would continue. And again, we're committed to doing what we can
to work with members of Congress to see that this resolution's
ultimately defeated.
Daily Briefing
10/17/2007
QUESTION: Can I have a reaction to the vote in Turkish parliament?
MR. CASEY: Well, I think the President addressed that, in
part. Understand that this vote has taken place. I would note that
many Turkish officials, including senior leadership, have indicated
that this vote does not mean that action will be taken. We certainly
continue to urge Turkish authorities to exercise restraint in terms of
their response to what is a common problem of PKK terrorism in
Northern Iraq. We do not want to see any unilateral military steps
taken, because we don't believe that that will solve the problem. In
fact, we believe it will make it harder to ultimately deal with the
threats and challenges posed.
We'll certainly continue to talk with the Turkish Government and with
Turkish officials, as we move forward in the days ahead. I would note,
as well as the President did, that Iraqi Vice President Al-Hashimi has
been and I believe continues to be in Turkey to have discussions with
Turkish officials on this issue. That's important because again the
real way to resolve this is through dialogue between the Turks and the
Iraqis and in development of a collective and common approach to this
problem. And it is a problem not only for the Turks, but it is a
problem, an acknowledged problem by the Iraqis and certainly it's a
concern for us, too, because we do consider the PKK a terrorist
organization.
QUESTION: Can you give an update on specific diplomatic activities,
specific calls? Has the Secretary made any calls?
MR. CASEY: Well, there are a few things that are out there. The
Secretary, as you know, is on travel and she's not made any additional
calls to Turkish officials on this issue. I do know that our
Ambassador Ross Wilson has been actively engaged with authorities
there in Ankara. Nick Burns remains in contact with the Turkish
Ambassador as well as other officials. And certainly I know Ambassador
Fried -- Dan Fried, our Assistant Secretary for European Affairs -- is
also continuing his engagement.
Although, same officials as well have been working on a related issue,
which is to talk to staff members and members of Congress about our
concerns and our continued opposition to the resolution that recently
passed the committee in the House. We want to make clear to members of
Congress that this resolution is one that is not going to serve the
purposes of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. It's not going to serve
U.S. national interests and, in fact, stands a good risk of harming
our bilateral relations with a country that is a friend and ally and
is vital to our military's efforts in Iraq and elsewhere.
I'm pleased to note and we're pleased to note over the last 24 hours
that there have been a number of members of Congress who have now come
out and publicly stated that they've changed their view and will no
longer be supporting this resolution. Certainly, we would hope that
trend would continue. And again, we're committed to doing what we can
to work with members of Congress to see that this resolution's
ultimately defeated.