ANKARA
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Spokesperson for the Turkish government, Bulent Arinc on Monday said that US Secretary of State John Kerry's words uttered on Sunday about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's potential visit to Gaza was wrong from a diplomatic point of view.
Speaking at a press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara following a meeting of the Turkish Council of Ministers, Arinc stated that the Turkish government would decide when and where the Turkish Prime Minister or a Turkish official would travel.
We are not in a position to receive permission from any other authority or accept their approval, Arinc stressed.
"Mr. Kerry knows this. The world knows this. Turkey has the strength to accomplish what it wants and when it wants," Arinc also said.
John Kerry, in a press conference held in Istanbul on Sunday, had said that they advised Prime Minister Erdogan to postpone his potential visit to Gaza.
John Kerry stressed that he thought it would be better if Prime Minister Erdogan postponed his visit to Gaza and the visit did not take place now due to certain reasons.
"Surely, Mr. Erdogan has the right to do or not to do what he wishes. We believe that the timing of the visit to Gaza is critical for the peace process we are trying to place back on the road. We want the sides not to be affected from outside. We think that it would be more beneficial if Mr. Erdogan waited for the right conditions," Kerry said.
"Prime Minister Erdogan listened to us graciously. I think he is very sensitive on the issue. If necessary, this issue could be discussed when he comes to Washington. I want to stress that Prime Minister Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu have been very helpful and constructive in this process. We consider them as officials who can make beneficial contributions to this atmosphere," Kerry also said.
"Talks between Turkish side and Israeli officials on redress for flotilla victims went positive": Arinc
Arinc on Monday said that the talks between the Turkish side and Israeli officials on redress for flotilla victims went positive today.
Bulent Arinc underlined that "no discussion took place between the Turkish and Israeli sides on Monday on the amount of compensation for the families of Turkish victims killed in a deadly Israeli raid in May, 2010".
"The amount of compensation was not clearly mentioned. However, the sides discussed the methods and principles to be used while calculating the compensation and they determined the parameters," Arinc emphasized.
A group of Israeli officials arrived Monday in Turkish capital Ankara to discuss details over the Jewish state's pledge to pay compensation to the families of the Turkish victims in a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Redress for the nine Turks killed aboard the Mavi Marmara ship, the lead vessel in the aid convoy, was one of Turkey's key demands to agree to restore relations after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended an official apology last month for the deaths. Turkey has also demanded from Israel to lift restrictions on Palestinians.
The Israeli delegation was headed by Netanyahu's national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror.
Talks were held behind closed doors at Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) headquarters.
Israeli officials later met with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc in a meeting which lasted around half an hour and was closed to press.
In regard to rumors published in some international media organs that the Israeli delegation arrived in Ankara to ask for permission to use the Akinci Airbase nearby Ankara for training purposes, Bulent Arinc underlined that it was out of question for the Israelis to use such an airbase in Ankara.
On a helicopter carrying Turkish civilians and one which made an emergency landing in a Taliban-controlled area in Afghanistan, Arinc said that they were closely following the incident.
"Eight Turkish nationals and two pilots, one with Afghan citizenship and the other with Russian citizenship, were withheld by the Taliban after their helicopter made an emergency landing due to poor weather conditions. Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely following the incident. We do hope that our citizens would be released soon and return to their work sites safely," Arinc also said.
