National Security Council urges against acts harmful to national unity

Chaired by President Abdullah Gul, the National Security Council (NSC) held its last meeting this year at the Cankaya Presidential Palace with the attendance of top government and military officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug. A statement released after the meeting said that recent domestic and foreign security developments were discussed in detail during the meeting. "The council members stressed at the meeting that Turkey will resolutely continue to fight terrorism, which seeks to harm the country's unity, integrity and peace," it said. "The council once again reaffirms its faith that citizens will act with common sense in line with contemporary democracy and principles of law and avoid attitudes that would harm feelings of fellowship." It added, "Developments in Iraq, the course of the trilateral cooperation mechanism with Iraq and the US in the fight against terrorism, and relations with Iraq were all assessed in light of the parliamentary elections in that country set for March 7, 2010." Stating that the ongoing comprehensive negotiations between the parties on Cyprus under UN auspices had also been reviewed, the statement said, "The NSC's views on the parameters of a just, lasting and comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue were made public in a press release following its June 30 meeting." It added, "As stated in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's letter to his Greek counterpart on October 30, 2009, it is important that the international community and concerned parties take a more active and encouraging role in the solution process. In this context, the council underlines that steps that could harm the course of the negotiations and an eventual peace solution should be avoided. The council stresses that achieving a just and lasting solution in a timely fashion could be possible if all the concerned parties show the necessary political will." The statement continued, "Recent developments concerning Turkey's European Union accession process, the restructuring of EU institutions after the approval of the Treaty of Lisbon by the member countries, and the results of the EU's December 2009 summit were also discussed." It stressed that speeding up Turkey's membership talks through eliminating political barriers and bilateral problems that are irrelevant to EU regulations and reforms would benefit all parties.