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Anadolu Agency
Dec 17 2004
Erdogan: Maybe We Can Go To Northern Cyprus One Day, And Invite
Papadopoulos
BRUSSELS (AA) - ''Maybe we can go to Northern Cyprus one day, and
invite (Greek Cypriot leader Tassos) Papadopoulos. We can have a
coffee of peace and meal of peace there,'' Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
Erdogan, who chatted with representatives of Turkish newspapers
and television channels in Belgian capital of Brussels, said heads of
state and government of European Union (EU) member states had started
to arrive in Brussels.
PM Erdogan said, ''we won't attend the summit today. 25 member
countries will hold the summit among themselves, and they will have
dinner this evening.''
Noting that some topics would start to be clarified during the
dinner, Erdogan said that deliberations would continue all night.
-ERDOGAN'S MEETINGS WITH LEADERS-
Erdogan said that most of the EU leaders had a positive approach
towards Turkey's sensitivities, but all matters had not been settled
yet.
''Not only our friends at the Foreign Ministry, but also Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul continue their deliberations on these unsettled
matters with the foreign ministers and prime ministers (of EU member
states). We will meet some prime ministers and heads of state today.
We also get appointment from some others (some other officials). We
will meet Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt some time later, and
have luncheon. He had a luncheon with (French President Jacques)
Chirac yesterday, and we gave them some topics. I met him here last
week. Also, Abdullah Gul met Verhofstadt. We conveyed our demands to
him in written,'' Erdogan said.
Noting that he would also meet his Greek counterpart Costas
Caramanlis later today, Erdogan said he talked to Caramanlis by phone
last night (Wednesday night), and noted that Caramanlis suggested
that they should meet after luncheon.
Erdogan stated that he would meet German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder before dinner, and efforts were under way to also meet
Chirac before dinner.
PM Erdogan said that he would also meet British Prime Minister
Tony Blair and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, and stated
that Blair was one of the leaders who could understand Turkey's
sensitivities.
-THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY ELASTICITY, EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CLEAR-
Pointing out that British Secretary of Foreign & Commonwealth
Affairs Jack Straw had asked to meet him, Erdogan said that Cyprus,
permanent derogation, and how ''open-ended negotiations'' were
defined were Turkey's sensitivities.
''There should not be elasticity, everything should be clear,''
he said.
Erdogan stated that the decision to open full membership
negotiations with Turkey should not be left to a second meeting, and
some other conditions except Copenhagen political criteria, like
Cyprus and border issues, should not be imposed before Turkey's
membership.
PM Erdogan recalled that he briefed ambassadors of EU member
states on all those matters during their meeting in Ankara, and asked
the ambassadors to inform their leaders about those issues.
''I think developments regarding Cyprus issue can become clear
after my meeting with Caramanlis,'' Erdogan said.
Answering a question, Erdogan said that the EU did not exert any
efforts to end isolation of Turkish Cypriots, and noted that Turkey
will assume a positive approach if the United Nations (UN) launches
initiatives to solve the Cyprus problem.
Erdogan went on saying, ''I should frankly say that, maybe we
can go to Northern Cyprus one day, and invite Papadopoulos. We can
have a coffee of peace and meal of peace there. Because, our motto is
to gain friends, not enemies. But, we should also see the same
approach from the other side. We will do anything if we see the same
approach. Progress we have made with the countries in the west,
north, south and east of Turkey, with which we didn't have contacts
in the past, is a clear evidence of this. And, the progress we have
made with Greece is another open evidence. South Cyprus gained what
it expected on May 1st.''
-WE CAN DO WHAT NORWAY DID-
Noting that negotiations could be cut when the process
continued, Erdogan said, ''if we see that progress we want can't be
made and if we think they are playing with time, we will stand on our
feet and do what Norway did; that is, we can quit. What we want is to
walk on this road without any discrimination. It seems that there is
one-sided approach here; that is, they say that Turkey will make EU
pay a big price when it joins the Union. Nobody is talking about
possible contributions Turkey will make. Turkey is already
contributing to the Union. Turkey is closing a serious foreign trade
deficit of EU.''
PM Erdogan stated that Turkey would continue to do what was
necessary till it became a full member.
-''ARMENIAN GENOCIDE''-
Answering a question on so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan
said that he did not see any difference between the expressions
''Armenian genocide'' and ''the so-called Armenian genocide'', and
both were expressions which can be maneuvered. Erdogan said that what
happened in the past should be left in the past, and added, ''history
should not incite our hatred. If we are to build a new world, we
should settle this world on peace. This is our main understanding.''
Dec 17 2004
Erdogan: Maybe We Can Go To Northern Cyprus One Day, And Invite
Papadopoulos
BRUSSELS (AA) - ''Maybe we can go to Northern Cyprus one day, and
invite (Greek Cypriot leader Tassos) Papadopoulos. We can have a
coffee of peace and meal of peace there,'' Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
Erdogan, who chatted with representatives of Turkish newspapers
and television channels in Belgian capital of Brussels, said heads of
state and government of European Union (EU) member states had started
to arrive in Brussels.
PM Erdogan said, ''we won't attend the summit today. 25 member
countries will hold the summit among themselves, and they will have
dinner this evening.''
Noting that some topics would start to be clarified during the
dinner, Erdogan said that deliberations would continue all night.
-ERDOGAN'S MEETINGS WITH LEADERS-
Erdogan said that most of the EU leaders had a positive approach
towards Turkey's sensitivities, but all matters had not been settled
yet.
''Not only our friends at the Foreign Ministry, but also Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul continue their deliberations on these unsettled
matters with the foreign ministers and prime ministers (of EU member
states). We will meet some prime ministers and heads of state today.
We also get appointment from some others (some other officials). We
will meet Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt some time later, and
have luncheon. He had a luncheon with (French President Jacques)
Chirac yesterday, and we gave them some topics. I met him here last
week. Also, Abdullah Gul met Verhofstadt. We conveyed our demands to
him in written,'' Erdogan said.
Noting that he would also meet his Greek counterpart Costas
Caramanlis later today, Erdogan said he talked to Caramanlis by phone
last night (Wednesday night), and noted that Caramanlis suggested
that they should meet after luncheon.
Erdogan stated that he would meet German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder before dinner, and efforts were under way to also meet
Chirac before dinner.
PM Erdogan said that he would also meet British Prime Minister
Tony Blair and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, and stated
that Blair was one of the leaders who could understand Turkey's
sensitivities.
-THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY ELASTICITY, EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CLEAR-
Pointing out that British Secretary of Foreign & Commonwealth
Affairs Jack Straw had asked to meet him, Erdogan said that Cyprus,
permanent derogation, and how ''open-ended negotiations'' were
defined were Turkey's sensitivities.
''There should not be elasticity, everything should be clear,''
he said.
Erdogan stated that the decision to open full membership
negotiations with Turkey should not be left to a second meeting, and
some other conditions except Copenhagen political criteria, like
Cyprus and border issues, should not be imposed before Turkey's
membership.
PM Erdogan recalled that he briefed ambassadors of EU member
states on all those matters during their meeting in Ankara, and asked
the ambassadors to inform their leaders about those issues.
''I think developments regarding Cyprus issue can become clear
after my meeting with Caramanlis,'' Erdogan said.
Answering a question, Erdogan said that the EU did not exert any
efforts to end isolation of Turkish Cypriots, and noted that Turkey
will assume a positive approach if the United Nations (UN) launches
initiatives to solve the Cyprus problem.
Erdogan went on saying, ''I should frankly say that, maybe we
can go to Northern Cyprus one day, and invite Papadopoulos. We can
have a coffee of peace and meal of peace there. Because, our motto is
to gain friends, not enemies. But, we should also see the same
approach from the other side. We will do anything if we see the same
approach. Progress we have made with the countries in the west,
north, south and east of Turkey, with which we didn't have contacts
in the past, is a clear evidence of this. And, the progress we have
made with Greece is another open evidence. South Cyprus gained what
it expected on May 1st.''
-WE CAN DO WHAT NORWAY DID-
Noting that negotiations could be cut when the process
continued, Erdogan said, ''if we see that progress we want can't be
made and if we think they are playing with time, we will stand on our
feet and do what Norway did; that is, we can quit. What we want is to
walk on this road without any discrimination. It seems that there is
one-sided approach here; that is, they say that Turkey will make EU
pay a big price when it joins the Union. Nobody is talking about
possible contributions Turkey will make. Turkey is already
contributing to the Union. Turkey is closing a serious foreign trade
deficit of EU.''
PM Erdogan stated that Turkey would continue to do what was
necessary till it became a full member.
-''ARMENIAN GENOCIDE''-
Answering a question on so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan
said that he did not see any difference between the expressions
''Armenian genocide'' and ''the so-called Armenian genocide'', and
both were expressions which can be maneuvered. Erdogan said that what
happened in the past should be left in the past, and added, ''history
should not incite our hatred. If we are to build a new world, we
should settle this world on peace. This is our main understanding.''