ISTANBUL
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that US Secretary of State John Kerry would visit Turkey on the weekend and that there would be no limits on the issues to be discussed.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Guinean counterpart Francois Lonseny Fall, Ahmet Davutoglu underlined that Kerry was not coming specifically for one issue.
"Among the agenda items to be discussed with Kerry are the Middle East peace process and Turkey's possible contributions to this process," Davutoglu indicated.
Kerry's visit
Asked by a journalist about Kerry's visit to Turkey on the weekend, Davutoglu stressed that Kerry wanted to consult with Turkey on some issues before his regional tour.
"We had a phone conversation. As we spoke on the phone, a need arose to meet face to face and make discussions in depth. There will be no limits on the number of issues we will talk in Turkey with Mr. Kerry. He will not be coming for a single issue. Among the agenda items to be discussed with Kerry are the Middle East peace process and Turkey's possible contributions to this process. I had a chance to meet with Palestinian head of state in Qatar after Mr. Kerry and US President Barack Obama paid visits to Palestine. In this context, our talks with the Hamas leadership continue. We will make an evaluation with Mr. Kerry in this context," Davutoglu stated.
Syria to be discussed
"The month of March was the most bloodiest one in Syria in the past three years," Davutoglu said.
"There are our brethren who get killed by Scud missiles in Syria every single day. In this frame, we will talk about Syria in details. The inaction and weakness of the international community on Syria damages the confidence people have in the international system. As a global actor and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US has special responsibilities while Turkey, as a neighbor of Syria, also has responsibilities on the issue. We will speak with Mr. Kerry on Syria in great depth," Davutoglu stated.
We may also talk about the latest developments in Cyprus to begin a new round of negotiations, and handle the issues of Iraq and Iran, Davutoglu noted.
Issue of reparations to be discussed with Israel-
Asked by a journalist if an apology delegation would arrive in Turkey from Israel, Davutoglu underlined that "one of Turkey's conditions, an apology, came and a promise was made about reparations for the families of the nine Turkish victims (who were killed in a fatal Israeli raid on the 'Mavi Marmara' aid ship back in May 2010)," Davutoglu said.
"There will be talks about the reparations. Another point we insist on is the end to the Israeli embargo on Gaza. Turkey and Israel will hold talks on the reparations in the next few days," Davutoglu emphasized.
-Agreements between Turkey and Guinea coming soon-
"Relations between Turkey and Guinea are developing well despite the geographic distance between our two countries. The two countries mutually opened embassies this year," Davutoglu said.
"In our talks with Fall today, we went over the bilateral relations. We took crucial decisions. The legal infrastructure and agreements with Guinea had not come to the desired point. In the next 5-6 months, the legal frame with Guinea would be completed," Davutoglu stated.
"In this context, we will sign agreements on the prevention of double taxation, incentives for investments, visa regulations, free trade, cultural relations and civil aviation," Davutoglu said.
"In a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Guinea in November, we will complete various agreements," Davutoglu noted.
"My Guinean counterpart Fall requested from the Turkish Airlines (THY) to begin flights to Guinea and we plan to begin such flights in 2014," Davutoglu indicated.
"We also discussed the issues of Somalia and Mali," Davutoglu said.
"Turkey will support every initiative of Guinea on Mali," Davutoglu underlined.
Guinean support to Turkey's candidacies-
"Fall assured us that Guinea would support Turkey's candidacies for the Olympics, UN Security Council, EXPO and UNESCO," Davutoglu expressed.
"Trade volume between Turkey and Guinea was 7 million USD in 2004. As of last year, this figure jumped to 60 million USD. We aim to raise this figure to 100 million USD," Davutoglu said.
"We reached an agreement with Fall to train young Guinean diplomats at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)," Davutoglu stated.
"We are aware of Turkey's role"-
Minister Fall, in his part, said that Turkey's role in Africa changed since 2002.
"We do know how crucial Turkey's role is in Africa. We appreciate Turkey's assertive foreign policy," Fall said.
"Turkey has opened many embassies in Africa in recent years. We believe that Turkish-Guinean relations should gain momentum," Fall underlined.
"There are opportunities for Turkey and Guinea to cooperate in agriculture, mining and commerce. We may be a small country but we have an economic potential. Such potential may be utilized for cooperation between our two countries," Fall said.
"We would like to facilitate a nice partnership model with Turkey," Fall also said.
