ANKARA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that he would honor his word and would not attend this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos of Switzerland.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media in Ankara January 11, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Once I give my word on something, it's done. I said 'I will never come to Davos again,' so I will never go to Davos again," Erdogan told a joint press conference with visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

    Eudogan referred to the wrangle with Israeli President Simon Peres over the situation in the Gaza Strip.

    Erdogan stormed out of a debate with Peres at the WEF meeting held in Davos in January 2009 in a rare move to protest against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip launched in December 2008.

    Erdogan complained he was not given enough time to respond to what Peres said during the debate and vowed not to come back to Davos.

    Relations between Turkey and Israel, which used to be long-termallies, have soured since the latter's 22-day massive offensive in Gaza.

    Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said he will attend this year's Davos meeting instead of Erdogan and stressed the importance of Turkey's presence at Davos in terms of relations with international investors, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported on its website Monday.

    The 40th annual meeting of the WEF will be held in Davos on Jan.27-31.

Turkish PM storms out of debate over Gaza

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) leaves a session next to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C) and Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Amr Moussa (R) at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 29, 2009. Erdogan stormed out of the debate on the Middle East at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, saying he might never return to the annual gathering of the rich and powerful.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday stormed out of a debate on the Gaza situation at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. Full story

Turkey pursues zero problem policy with neighbors

    ISTANBUL, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkey achieved a remarkable progress in pursuing the zero problem policy with neighbors such as Iran and Syria in 2009 as part of endeavors to revive its regional influence.

    The policy by the Turkish government was aimed at maximum cooperation with its neighbors and minimum problems in the region. Full story