Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu releases a white pigeon during the opening of the new Turkish Consulate in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad October 31, 2009. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly
Turkey: Time to Rebuild Middle East
Source: Turkish Daily Mail
Date: Saturday, 31 October 2009 0:24
Tags: Turkey and Middle East, Middle East, Kurd, Kurdish, Iraq
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ARBIL – Turkey extended a regional peace drive to Iraqi Kurds when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with top Kurdish officials in a landmark visit to Arbil.
?It is time for Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis to rebuild the Middle East. Therefore, it is time for everyone to take brave steps,? Davutoglu told a joint press conference with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani late on Friday. Barzani praised Davutoğlu’s visit, saying it is even more significant now as the Middle East is passing through such a sensitive time.
Davutoğlu’s visit to Arbil, the first by a Turkish foreign minister, is a sign that a taboo maintained in Turkish foreign policy until recently is no longer in place.
Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani (R) holds a joint conference with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, October 30, 2009. Picture taken October 30, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
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