President Gul: The aim is to end terrorism

Turkey’s aim is to end terrorism, President Abdullah Gul said yesterday while responding to questions by reporters at Istanbul Ataturk Airport before his departure for Berlin for a visit. Gul said government officials resorted to all methods to eradicate terrorism within the framework of a strategy, adding that intelligence units also fulfill their responsibilities in this respect. After arriving in Germany Gul received German journalists, who were detained in Iran on charges of espionage and released after his initiatives. Gul’s first meeting in the German capital of Berlin was with Marcus Hellwig and photo journalist Jens Koch. During the visit, Turkish and German finance ministers will sign an agreement to prevent double taxation. Besides Turkey-Germany relations, Turkey’s EU membership process and recent global and regional developments will be high on the agenda of Gul’s meeting with his German counterpart Christian Wulff.