Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s probable next president, intends to play a prominent role in foreign affairs if he is elected to the post in the next three weeks by the country’s parliament.

In an interview on Tuesday evening with members of Ankara’s foreign press corps, Mr Gul also dismissed concerns held by many in Turkey’s secular institutions and among some of the public about the fact that his wife wears the Muslim headscarf. “My wife’s scarf is not an issue,” he said. “It’s a personal decision [to wear it] and I am going to be president, not my wife.”