From our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. The United NationsGeneral Assembly brings many had to stay to new york. We begin a series of conversations this week with the president of turkey, recep tayyip erdogan. It brings turkey into renewed focus this weekend. Were six diplomats released from isis captivity in iraq and had been held for over 100 days. Turkey says no ransom was paid. It is adding to the 1. 3 million refugees in turkey. 130,000 syrian kurds had entered turkey in the last three days. Turkey is part of the coalition against isis but so far has made no military commitment. I spoke to the president earlier today at his hotel. Here is our conversation. Thank you for joining us. Your hostages have been released. Can you tell me if you had to give up anything, make any promises to isis to get them home . The, the fact hostages our home is a very Important Development to our country and a very important issue for us. And our National Intelligence service worked very hard with their ability to conduct the operation very important. I have to say very clearly that these hostages were kept in captivity for 102 days. There has really been a very successful intelligence effort to get them released. There is what we might call a diplomatic operation, a political operation. It all of these aspects have been very important securing the release of these 49 hostages. There are many speculations but i can say very clearly that there has been no issue of paying any ransom. There is no money paid. Everyone should know that. Diplomaticpletely a and political discussion. The result is of political and diplomatic negotiations. Not include any concessions visavis our country and our government. Isis got nothing in return for releasing those hostages . Well, isis is playing for a number of things in the region. Not want to do increase the number of enemies that they have because turkey would have remained patient only up to a certain point. And other steps wouldve had to be taken. As you know, there was a meeting which the United States participated in and other countries participated in as well. Our foreign minister was there and the Coalition Building effort. Meetings, i told him that wecame to visit me would be part of a humanitarian effort. But because we had the 49 hostages, we would not be in a position to take other steps. We have actually taken significant steps in terms of humanitarian support. Hostingple, we are about 60,000 that have arrived in turkey in a very short time. We are hosting about 60,000 in our territory. They are staying in our School Buildings. 125,000is morning, syrian kurds are in turkey and are being hosted in turkey. Moment, ae, at the total of 1. 5 million refugees in turkey. We are hosting these 1. 5 million people. , the rest ofthat world is hosting 120,000 130,000. So there is a big difference. Billion inested 3. 5 this effort. There are also wounded people coming from palestine, gaza, and 130 of them have arrived in turkey so far. Some have been treated already and others are in the process of being treated. Turkey is fulfilling this humanitarian effort. Described to me the condition in the refugee camps. Understands what the challenge is. There are four tribes of refugee camps that we have at the moment. S, camps we hadnt to set up quickly and urgently. Some container cities that were set up. There are others that have their own financial needs that could be settled in some of the cities. And we have opened up our School Buildings to house these refugees. Dday, in some cases, if they are syrian kurds, represent a Security Threat to turkey . We will see how far this can go, thats the question mark. The ppk has been in opposition and fighting against isis. Pkk. Is is not an issue for the area isis came in and is chasing the kurds there. S are occupiedge by isis as a result. It is happening now in the area. Bani the villages around it are being occupied by isis and the kurds living in those villages are fleeing to turkey and they are now housed in turkey. My understanding is what you want is a nofly zone away from the border that will pull those able away from the border because they will seek the safety of a nofly zone . That is correct. The moment there is a nofly zone, there will be a safe zone in that area. And other humanitarian needs would be provided to that region. Could settle in that area and live in that area for a time being. Another question is that some people believe and argue and say it is a fact that many of the people joining isis in syria that you need to do a better job of closing your borders to those radicals that want to come and fight for isis. These are not sincere. We discussed this at the summit. , they talked u. K. About going to this region. We have identified 6000 of them. We have detained some of them, we have deported some of them. We have been working on this. Entry is some whose banned. They are very keen on this. In turkey and going through serious . Iraq you look at syria and , if you look at our border, it is 1200 kilometers including the border with syria and the border with iraq. Were looking at a very long border were you have the customs entry and exit points and you have the rest of the border. It is not possible to control every single segment of it. What of the commitment of turkey for the fight against isis . What are you prepared to do . The struggle against al qaeda and the struggle against isis will continue to be the case. The view in regard to terrorist organizations, the region is one of the game one in the same. We had been fighting against pkk terrorism. We know what the consequences are. 40,000 people lost their lives as a result of the struggle. The economic consequences also been huge. Isis is not a terrorist organization that emerged today. It was in iraq and it went to syria. The environment provided it with a room for development and it started growing. To countries sensitive terrorism have a responsibility countering the threat. That is my question. What is your responsibility and what are you prepared to do . Would you do that . They can engage isis in syria. What requires in this effort is what needs to be done. Turkey will do what it needs to do on its own experience. We have been sending out warnings for a long time. In syria, we sounded the alarm with the u. S. And serious. And syria. The issue isnt just a rack, iraq and syria. Q, its airstrikes. If you only consider airstrikes, it means youre not fully involved in this struggle. It is only one dimension. Need to be done from the air, from the ground, from a humanitarian perspective. These all have to be taken into consideration and we have to look at this as a whole. Dont have this kind of comprehensive approach, the job will be half done. That is where you leave it. What about the social ramifications . What about the political ramifications . The United States does not want to be seen as sending its , muslims fight again in the middle east. They would like to provide the support that they can to stop isis. Use are prepared to advisors and air power, but they need Ground Troops to come from the region. Where are they going to come from . You take the Free Syrian Army and make it into a fighting force and stop isis . Fighting against terrorism isnt a regional issue. Its an international issue. And since its an international issue, we have to consider an international approach. Why would a meeting be held . Minded did this process began 12 years ago . And why was the situation in syria considered the way it was considered . We have to discuss these on an International Level and there has to be an international offensive. If they are taking place in this location today, its very possible they would happen in other countries tomorrow. ,n the u. K. , france, germany and the u. S. As has happened with the twin towers. But mr. President , you know they are taking ground in syria and a raciraq. They occupy and take hostages that are turkish hostages. They have to be stopped there now. And you need an effort that involves a coalition and the united eight and others saying, u. S. And others saying, where is turkey . On a Television Program like this our units have discussions with american counterparts. They are having those discussions and based on the outcome of those discussions, there are certain phases where we would be involved. Region. N the the fire is burning in our region. That are notillion in germany or france, they are in my country. I am already there and my country is defending them. We are saving those people from those bombs and those events across the border. These are very important because they constitute the humanitarian aspect of what is happening. Planes fly. France and the u. S. , they send planes and bombs certain areas. This is very positive. Is it sufficient . No. While they are bombing one area, isis is still moving forward with tanks and artillery that they have. Where did the tanks and artillery come from . To really assess the situation fully. Artillery ared weapons the u. S. Had provided to the iraqi army in the past. When the army left, they were left isis. And what did they do it then . They began their effort in the region. All theto contemplate steps that we would need to take in the region. And depending on that outlook, we would do what we have to do. All the countries in the region not to be doing it. Were, fore maliki four years, cap there. Cap there. T there. L happekep what will happen now . He will become the Vice President. But isnt that progress because the United States made clear that it would not be engaged in less there is a change in the baghdad government . It is not possible to accept that the sunnis have a more influential position in the new government because it is the shiite that has the dominant position still. But the uncertainty that was there is no longer there. Have a president and now it has a president. The speaker of the parliament has been determined and the Prime Minister is now someone else. At least the iraqi people are free of maliki. Border of 320 iraq and we hopea rac that our relations will be healthier or better. Have, with the administration, the arabs, the sunnis, the shia, we have contacts with all of these groups. We were in touch with maliki as well. But his approach was different. He did not establish a national army. He established a shiite army. About 98 of the army was made up of the shiites. That cannot be a national army. Clashes andternal lead to problems in a rack. They are aware oiraq. They are aware of these factors and have worked swiftly to establish an army. He said the biggest problem syria. Iraq, its se as i said to president obama, one cannot only look at iraq. That would be wrong. Syria both at the bk can into consideration when. Etermining what to do obama did address that situation. I think this was a correct observation, a correct assessment. Dohink that we have to whatever is necessary based on this overall assessment. So if we take that kind of approach, we will be more successful. How do you assess what the americans have done so far . Positive, negative . More recently, if we are talking about the most recent steps, they are positive. Delayed, but positive. Theould it be better if president decided to support the Free Syrian Army two years ago notwithstanding his worry that weapons would fall into the hands of groups like isis . Well, i should say that two years. Its not even two its three years ago. Things should have been dealt with three years ago in syria. The same with iraq. Waskis approach unfortunately never positive. Maliki put a lot of pressure on his people. I said this to president obama and when i was talking to Vice President biden about this. We told them about the situation in the region and unfortunately, the steps were not taken to deal with it. People in our country are able to go back home. Do you think your effort to overthrow and see assad leave as syriaof government in seri allowed you to overlook the threat of the radical jihadist in syria . You were so intent of seeing assad overthrown that your support went to the wrong groups . Well, let me say very clearly that regarding these terrorist organizations, we have to think of how they happened. How they came about to these terrorist organizations. Were they there when assad was there or was isis there or was al qaeda there . I was Prime Minister for 11 years and i kept going to syria. I visited regularly and those organizations did not exist at the time. Back toes always came assad himself. I kept telling him that he should move more quickly to democracy and it would not be sufficient to just have one part. Parties, we worked together and provided a lot of support. He kept telling us that he but thatin these ideas his political life would come to an end if you were allow democracy. That is why he used the tanks. So did al qaeda and others. Unfortunately, it was only turkey and qatar that works together to support the Free Syrian Army. And our collaboration, we try to continue to support the moderate opposition groups. Let these terrorist organizations. Left space for these terrorist organizations. You are suggesting that assad allowed isis to become a threat . It was in his interest to do that . Do you have any doubt . He was the one who prepared the ground for this. Isis and heorted supported isis against groups opposing him and established his own reign by using isis and others. So whoever was not against him was his friend because he thought that the enemy of his enemy was his friend. Irrespective of who they were or what terrorist organization they were. What role should iran play in the battle against isis . A rant has not played the role they have been expected to play. We have discussed this with the arabians a number of times iranians a number of times. Whenever we wanted to work with them, they shied away from it. And in syria, too, they were always part of the difficulties because their role was that of defending assad regime like rus sia did. That is the role they played. Its a fact we all saw. They supported the maliki government and supported syria. Hezbollah came in and supported assad. The question is, are they opposed to isis . Secretary kerry says we should look for ways that iran should be part and all nations should be part of an effort to stop isis. To the a what happened previously. Taking the steps regarding the , we see today that iran is not taking a step against syria. Hezbollah is standing with the syrian regime. Is it more important to stand against isis then it is to overthrow assad at this moment . Moment, we cant really say this is more important than the other. I think we have to analyze this situation. We have to make sure that we drive out the swamp. One part is in syria. The extension is in iraq. We have to make sure all of it is no longer there. What can the u. S. Do . Or lebanon or qatar . We work on these matters. End this. And this en is it doable . . Ow long will it take ech wei can tell you how long do got to make a decision. Then we can move forward. Split in believe the between shia and sunni is as it is today at co there is significant sectarianism today . There is significant sectarianism. I dont accept the split sunni and shia. I am sad to see that some support this split. Others have not been happy with what ive said in the past. Important iss islam, not whether you are a sunni or shia. This means peace in arabic. Andm is a religion of peace islam isterize something that we will not accept. In this respect, they must take part in this effort for peace. They should not adopt a sectarian approach. In the same way, the sunnis must also work for peace and they, too, should not believe in sectarian violence. They have to show it in their actions. We work with religious affairs and the International Islamic scholars. Turkish scholars are also working in this area as well. Ke isis or isil, they invot their mission in the name of islam. They take the religion as a rallying cry for their political objectives. They claim it is in the name of and that is how we recruit as well. It is impossible for us to accept this approach of isis. What they are doing has nothing whatsoever to do with islam. We are people who are knowledgeable on the issue of religion. It has carried out a number of activities and made some statements. This cannot be. The muslim world, the religion of islam cannot be accepted. What the religion does not accept, what the scholars do not , it cannot be how you religion on the word of isis which is a terrorist organization. You capture an american or british person and they behead them. They dont have that right. I want to take you to the recent conflict between israel and hamas. What was the result of that conflict . We have to remember that israel has the infrastructure, the ammunition and atomic bomb. It is a powerful country. Does gaza have any of those capabilities . No. Neither does palestine. Now, what happened in this process that began with the west and was extended to gaza about 2300 people were killed, between 7000 and 8000 were injured. Couldestion i ask is, there be a humanitarian aspect to this . They are introducing new , and despitehere that fact, they are still being built. If it had died in some other place, all hell would break loose. In our country, there was the event with a lot of people attacking turkey. There were no journalists that died or were killed. It it was as if all hell broke loose. There is still no warning made or statements made against the thate in palestine or gaza live in a place like an openair prison. Food, thet get the medication, the materials they need to survive. Many buildings have been destroyed. How will hospitals be rebuilt . U. N. Buildings have been hit. They have been destroyed. How will those buildings be rebuilt . We do not talk about israel and its policies. Gazans died. How many israelis . Missiles. Amas fires how many people died as a result . How many buildings demolished . You said israelis have no conscience, no honor, no pride. Those that condemn hitler day and night have surpassed hitler in barbarism. Clearly, you didnt mean that. What i said had to do with the israeli government, not with the people or the jewish people. On this subject, the jewish people in turkey. Look at our history. In our history, we have had a special relationship with the people. More so than other country. We opened our doors as a country to them. 500,000 jews at that time arrived at the ottoman territory. To see thewe have facts for what they are. , we condemn that holocaust. I was a Prime Minister that declared antisemitism as a crime against humanity. When i first became Prime Minister. For those who tried to characterize me in the opposite direction are doing so for their own reasons. Engaged in the holocaust and now, unfortunately the same is being done by the Israeli Administration to the arabs in palestine. Happened inve what gaza is comparable to the holocaust . Yes, of course. Do you have any doubt . Do you have any doubt . The israeli government, the administration is carrying out genocide at the moment. It is genocide of the arab people, the palestinians. It is not others being killed. It is the palestinians dying there. How can we not see this fact . Who is being killed . Thate israeli would argue they were fired upon and every nation has to respond. And they responded in order to stop that is the explanation. But clearly that is different from genocide, the holocaust in which 6 million jews were gassed. Killed iny have been gas chambers, yes. I say that is a crime against humanity. Is happening here, millions of palestinians are in exile. They have had to leave their homes and also tens of thousands of palestinians who are subject to conventional arms and are being killed by the Israeli Administration. How can we turn a blind eye to this . Let me ask you in respect to where israel is today and the relationship with turkey. You said to me that you were hopeful in a matter of weeks that there relationship had been established and you thought it would make its way to full recognition. Has it done that . My hopes were in vain unfortunately because of mr. Netanyahu. Because he had made an apology the ship and support with president obama and there was an agreement to be paid. There was also some discussion ongoing about the lifting of the blockade. At which point, bombs started dropping in gaza. That point, come back to normalization . Demolishedly, they it at that point. This is very positive. There is a ceasefire at this moment. But i want to render the ceasefire permanent so that we can establish a new world in the region. Presidency of mr. Bush, we have been supporting a two state solution and that is what we should achieve now. Israel and palestine. If we say it will only be israel, it doesnt work. Colin powell was tasked with resolving this issue and i said to president obama that we are ready to do whatever we can. We did convince thomas on this d att and they, too, arrive this positive point. The goal should be to stop these killings. If that happens, we are certainly ready for normalization. As these events are ongoing, not a single jewish person suffered any harm. Those are the kinds of things that need to be appreciated as well. Consider them as bad as isis . When you look at them, do they propose the same threat isis does . The alternative to terrorism isnt terrorism. 10 if an action can be defined as terrorism it doesnt matter which organization is perpetrating that. You are now president of your country. With new responsibilities. In every conversation we have had about turkey and the European Union, you expressed of the waysat one that participation in the European Union would be positive is that turkey could be a bridge to the islamic world. Where do you stand on that . Between thessary and and the islamic world somehow stop the kind of conflict we are seeing now take place . World, especially turkeys desire to be part of europe stems from this fact because of turkey becomes part of the European Union, this would have meant that relations between the eu and the islamic world would be carried out in a much better way. Have seen this expectation on part of the islamic countries whenever we have spoken with them. Unfortunately, the eu is still engaged in delay tactics and this is sad to see for us. Are on the rise hoping that efforts on the part of the presidencies and on the part of friends of turkey would be important trying to ensure that the channels for negotiation work opened and closed in the coming year so that turkey becomes a member of the eu and has the same responsibility of bridging the gap between the islamic world and the European Union. I didnt mean to raise a question of membership so much as the role in the region that turkey can play today. Great conflicts in the region today. And what it is that you see and help. And hope turkey can do. It is powerful, it has a strong military, it has influence in the islamic world. Political, military, social, diplomatic responsibilities that turkey may take upon itself are all very important. Capacity tohe conduct any of those tasks. We have the capacity to do this. And we have done so in the past and we continue to do so and we will continue to do it in the future. Turkey has institutionalized itself in accordance with the eu institutions and mechanisms. And the work that we have carried out in turkey, we have achieved all of this. I hope that this process can go on much more swiftly and we achieve our goals. We have a role in the alliance of civilizations and our aim is to prevent the clash of and work with an alliance of civilizations and we would continue to do so. Are we closer to the clash of civilizations today because of what we are seeing happening in the region . Unfortunately, we see members and wesame civilization have to revisit this issue. And People Living in the region and countries elsewhere should not be testing each other. They have to Work Together towards peace and they have to talk about what they can do to ensure peace in the world. , we cane can do that ensure an alliance of civilizations. The ballot boxes, that is something we have to achieve. This reminds me of the theme you have talked about. Sectarianism and the necessity of democracy. When you went to cairo. And that turkey should be the model. Emphasizedso secularism. Brotherhood had a different approach. , they aretatement iderstanding change because said the state ought to be equidistant and it should provide assurances do all of the different groups and that is how i define secularism. It is very important. My Political Party at the time for the program. Thank you. Very much. Thank you. This is taking stock for tuesday, september 23, 2014. I am pimm fox. Todays theme is strike. An arab and u. S. Military coalition strikes. Details about the conflict and the ramifications as World Leaders meet in new york city. Pfizer is said to have approached activists about striking a deal. The u. S. Drug maker might carry on despite the new tax and version hurdles that have been put forth by the u. S. Treasury. There have been striking protests about climate change. We will talk about capitalisms