FM Gul re the Hamas visit to Ankara: We told the US and Israel
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 23, 2006 11:03
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has revealed that the AKP administration had briefed both the US and Israel prior to the Ankara visit by the Hamas delegation last week. Gul also noted that he had received positive impressions from both countries following these briefings. Gul declined, however, to give an answer to the question of exactly who it was who had issued an invitation to to Hamas; instead, he said yesterday, "I cannot say anything as to who it was that invited them."
Here is more of what Gul said regarding Hamas in yesterday's talk at the Turkish Parliament: "Hamas came to power through an election. They have to get along with Israel. Israel knows this. If Israel had wanted, they could have prevented Hamas from entering the elections in their own country. But they didn't do this. We want to contribute to the peace process between the two countries. This is why we gave the Hamas delegation the message of "leave off weapons, and recognize Israel as legitimate." Whether or not they take this advice is up to them."