Pointing out that Kirkuk was a high-ranking issue for Turkey, Gul said, "U.S. President Bush shares same ideas with us on Kirkuk. We talked to him during his visit to Turkey."
Gul said, "We are involved in the stability of Iraq and we have responsibilities on this issue. We are responsible of Turkomans. We can not regard injustices and fait-a-complies in a neighboring country as its internal affairs. As we protected Kurds while they were being tortured in the past, we will also protect Turkomans in case of an injustice. Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan also knows our sensitivity on this issue." (YE)
