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ANKARA: Premier Erdogan Calls On Turkish People In France To Be More

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  • ANKARA: Premier Erdogan Calls On Turkish People In France To Be More

    PREMIER ERDOGAN CALLS ON TURKISH PEOPLE IN FRANCE TO BE MORE ORGANIZED

    Anatolian Times, Turkey
    July 5 2006

    STRASBOURG - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on
    Turks in France to get more organized and integrate into the society
    in which they live to help to the improvement of bilateral relations
    between the two countries.

    In an interview with the French Le Figaro daily, PM Erdogan said,
    "the EU perceives Turkey in a different way since it comes from a
    different civilization and has a population of 70 million. However,
    this approach has begun losing its prevalence recently."

    When asked whether Turkey's rejection to open its ports and airports
    to the Greek Cypriot vessels and aircraft would lead to the suspension
    of entry negotiations, Erdogan said, "I do not want to think about
    suspension of talks due to such an irrelevant issue. It is totally
    contrary to EU principles."

    Referring to the embargo imposed on the Turkish Republic of Northern
    Cyprus (TRNC), PM Erdogan said, "although Turkish Cypriots accepted
    the Annan plan in 2004's referendum, they were punished, while the
    Greek Cypriots, who rejected the plan, were awarded. Is this fair?"

    Replying to a question about Turkish-French relations, PM Erdogan said,
    "France is one of the most important trade partners of Turkey.

    I believe that the negative impression of French people towards Turkey
    stem from lack of communication. Therefore, I call on Turkish people
    living in France to be more organized and integrated (into the society)
    for improvement of bilateral relations between the two countries."

    Upon a question about the so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan
    indicated, "we believe that historians should deal with the issue.

    We have opened all our archives to researchers. I sent a letter
    (in this regard) to Armenian President Robert Kocharian, but he did
    not responded."
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