Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday attended a foreign ministers’ meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in preparation for the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit which officially starts today. Speaking to reporters, Gul said that UN-led efforts have been underway for clearing the names of non-residents from voter rolls in Kirkuk, Iraq. Asked about Iraqi Turkmens’ concerns regarding the situation in Kirkuk, Gul described the city as a “mini Iraq” and said that Turkey has been closely monitoring the situation there. The foreign minister also said that he recently sent a letter outlining Turkey’s concerns to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and added that everybody is against artificial changes to Kirkuk’s demographic makeup. Gul also said that the “OIC 10-Year Action Plan” covering problems facing the Islamic world, important events, and developments was the most important subject discussed at the meeting of foreign ministers. /Star/
