UN General Assembly
2006

Turkey is close to the centre of most of the issues of concern to the international community, which naturally figure prominently on my country’s foreign policy agenda. Our objective is to establish conditions for a lasting peace and enhance cooperation for integration in the greater region. In this context, our relations with our neighbours continue to diversify. We believe that our good-neighbourly relations with Greece will enhance cooperation, stability and prosperity in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. In a similar vein, we have prepared several regional initiatives. We take part in peacekeeping and police missions around the world. These greater objectives help explain our active diplomacy, primarily in regions such as the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus surrounding Turkey. In all such instances, we work to avert outright conflict and consolidate stability. We try to put out the fires of discord and cultivate reconciliation. We are committed to political processes and diplomatic solutions and are in the forefront of post-conflict rehabilitation, reconstruction and assistance. The Balkans are passing through a profound