Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Turkish Foreign Minister Quoted On Relations With EU, Italy, Russia

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Turkish Foreign Minister Quoted On Relations With EU, Italy, Russia

    TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER QUOTED ON RELATIONS WITH EU, ITALY, RUSSIA
    by Vittorio Da Rold

    Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan
    Nov 5 2008
    Italy

    Marseilles - "The Turkish Government will not deviate from its
    strategic aim of forcefully working for Turkey's admission to the
    European Union notwithstanding the criticism in the EU report, for
    Europe and the reforms related to it are of fundamental importance
    for the country's development." That is what Turkish Foreign Minister
    Ali Babacan says in a broad interview granted to Il Sole 24 Ore in
    an aside at the Union for the Mediterranean Summit.

    On the eve of the EU report that will be made public in Brussels
    today [5 November] and that, according to well-informed diplomatic
    sources, will contain stern criticism of Ankara over respect for
    human rights in the Ergenekon (the Turkish Gladio) trial; of the
    absence of an amendment to the Penal Code relating to the offence of
    Turkish identity, which has allowed many trials of writers, including
    the Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk; and of delays in the struggle
    against corruption - Minister Babacan, 41, with an upbeat look and
    a relaxed expression on his face, stresses Turkey's course towards
    European integration "at this critical moment in which the attitude
    towards Turkey of some European partners (not Italy, which has always
    backed us) has worsened. These, however, are cyclical developments
    in a long and complex process that goes through ups and downs, just
    as happened with Spain and Great Britain. The important thing is not
    to lose sight of one's long-term goals."

    Still, Turkey's admission is an opportunity for both partners, as
    "Europe is strong by virtue of its diversity, its democratic values,
    its rule of law, its tolerance, and its free market." Babacan says that
    the trust in the reforms requested by Brussels remains unchanged, but
    that the popularity of the Union is declining, having gone down from
    75 per cent to 55 per cent. "The Turks feel that they are not being
    accepted, and they emotionally respond with faltering enthusiasm."

    As a great Muslim country, though secularized and democratic, in the
    EU, Turkey would add "a major global force to the soft power [the
    two preceding words in English] of the Union, expanding its culture,
    values, and ethnic components. The EU would increase its influence on
    areas like the Middle East, Central Asia, and the southern shores of
    the Mediterranean, which was precisely the subject of our discussion in
    Marseilles today," Babacan recalled, opining that "Turkey's admission
    to the Union goes precisely in this direction and Ankara has no hidden
    agendas, but only the positive will to be an element of stability,
    progress, and peace in the area."

    Then the minister narrates an episode that was not made public:
    "During the recent crisis in Georgia, Prime Minister Erdogan and
    by flew to Moscow and met with Medvedev, Putin, and Lavrov whom we
    informed directly (there were only the five of us) of our plan for
    stability in the Caucasus. The initiative was a success, and now the
    Russians share our approach to a solution that is based on diplomacy
    and dialogue."

    Babacan is about to leave for Rome and on to Prague in view of the
    6-month Czech EU presidency, then to New York to inaugurate Turkey's
    installation as a non-permanent UN Security Council member.

    "Through our cultural and historical links in the area, we are
    making diplomatic efforts to promote relations between Azerbaijan
    and Armenia, and for our part, to reopen a dialogue with Yerevan,
    by starting projects for new gas pipelines and a rail network that
    will run along the old Silk Route and will make it possible to link
    Shanghai to London going through the Caucasus via Turkey." He does not
    forget Afghanistan, as he says: "We have 800 soldiers there, have built
    10 schools and 15 healthcare centres, and are involved in a difficult
    process of mediation between the Afghanis and the Pakistanis, not to
    mention our mediation efforts in Lebanon between Syria and Israel,
    as well as over the Iranian nuclear dossier," the minister says.

    As for Italian-Turkish relations, "they are excellent, and on 12
    November a bilateral summit between the two governments will take place
    in Izmir with the participation of the respective prime ministers,
    Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Silvio Berlusconi, two politicians who are
    have also been close personal friends for a long time.

    Italy is Turkey's third-biggest economic partner after Russia and
    Germany, and there are excellent development prospects: "Trade
    exchanges stood at $17 billion in 2007," and they are estimated to
    go up to $20 billion in 2008. "We are two complementary economies,
    and that is proved by the 659 Italian enterprises which - apart from
    Finmeccanica, Unicredit, FIAT, ENI, and Indesit - operate in our
    country: You have the design, technology, and know-how, whereas we
    have low costs and good production capabilities. The economy, policy,
    last year's 515,000 Italian tourists, and culture unite us," Babacan
    concludes, before leaving for Rome where today, together with Italian
    Foreign Minister Frattini, he will attend the Italian-Turkish Forum.
Working...
X