Secretary-General's press encounter after dinner hosted by Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul (unofficial transcript)

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Prime Minister and I have had fruitful and really constructive talks on my efforts here in the region to help settle the Cyprus issue. I will leave here tomorrow to Athens and then from Athens I will go to Nicosia, where I will meet the leaders and hope that we will make real and general progress.

We also talked a bit about Iraq and the crisis we are dealing with, which is of great concern to all of us. It is not only, as you know, being debated in the UN Security Council but all around the world, and here in your country in particular. I know the importance of this issue for your country and your government, so I was very happy to be able to discuss both issues with the Prime Minister whom I have stayed in touch with several times since he took office and I look forward to our continuous collaboration.

Tesekkur ederim.