Leader of supreme council of Iraq meets Gul, Erdogan and Davutoglu
Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, who is currently on a visit to Turkey, met with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday. Following his first meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Davuoglu spoke at a joint press conference, saying that it is an important opportunity to hold intensive contacts with al-Hakim. "We agree with al-Hakim that all sides involved must come shoulder to shoulder in order to ensure that there is no ethnic or sectarian polarization in the region," Davutoglu said, adding, "The establishment of a new and strong Iraq by Sunnis, Shiites, Christians, Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens would be the herald of great days to come for the entire region. This is Turkey's basic approach towards Iraq as a friendly and brother country. Turkey has never and will never have any sectarian or ethnic bias in its approach towards Iraq." Speaking in his part, al-Hakim said that Turkey and Iraq share common interests. "We would never allow daily political issues to cast a shadow upon the sound friendship and relations between us. We need certain initiatives to strengthen our brotherly ties. We are also trying to benefit from Turkey's experiences with regard to elections and constitutional issues," al-Hakim said. He added that Iraq needed a government which embraces all ethnical and cultural differences. Following his meeting with Davutoglu, al-Hakim was received by Gul. A statement issued by the Presidential Palace indicates that Gul said during the meeting that he considered all Iraqis as brothers, adding that all the sections in Iraq should adopt certain policies aimed at protecting interests of the entire country and act with common sense and deliberateness. In return, al-Hakim thanked Gul for Turkey's equalitarian approach towards all the sections in Iraqi nation. Al-Hakim also held contacts with Erdogan at his official residence, which was also attended by Davutoglu and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chairman Omer Celik. A statement which was issued by the Prime Minister's Office later on Thursday says that Erdogan stressed Iraq's unity in his talks with al-Hakim and told him that Iraq belongs to all Iraqi people. The statement also says that al-Hakim stressed the importance of relations with Turkey and defined the talks as quite helpful with regard to relations between Turkey and Iraq.