PM Erdogan visits Egypt

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday paid a one-day visit to Sharm-El Sheikh, where he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Afterwards, Erdogan told a press conference that they had had a very fruitful meeting and that Turkey had suggested a two-stage plan to end the tension on the Gaza Strip. Erdogan said that the first stage of the plan is to launch an initiative for the immediate declaration of a cease-fire, and that the second is to reach a quick consensus between Palestinian groups. Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to cooperate with Egypt in bringing the Palestinian issue to the UN. Asked how developments in the region would affect Turkish-Israeli relations, Erdogan said, "Intergovernmental relations should never involve emotions. They should involve knowledge, wisdom and experience. However, injustice should never be permitted either. If there is cruelty, we cannot support that. We would try to solve it through talks."