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Turkish FM calls NATO, EU for an opening policy towards Balkans

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  • Turkish FM calls NATO, EU for an opening policy towards Balkans

    Hürriyet
    Sunday, February 08, 2009
    Turkish FM calls NATO, EU for an opening policy towards Balkans

    Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that NATO and the European
    Union (EU) could succeed in creating common values and ideals in
    Balkan countries where different religious faiths and cultures
    co-exist. Efforts to normalize the country's relations with Armenia
    continue, he also said.

    "The Balkans where different religious faiths and cultures co-existed,
    need common values and ideals to bring people together. NATO and the
    EU could achieve it together," Babacan said at a panel discussion on
    "Caucasus and Balkans" held on the sidelines of the 45th Munich
    Security Conference in Germany.

    Babacan underlined the importance of dialogue to find productive
    solutions to problems and said, "The EU should pursue an opening
    policy towards the Balkans. We support Serbia's membership to the
    EU. On the other hand, we think that Macedonia should become a member
    of NATO as soon as possible."


    RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

    Babacan said Turkey's efforts to normalize relations with Armenia
    ongoing, Anatolian Agency reported.

    "Our efforts have been continuing to normalize the relations between
    the two countries after President Serzh Sargsyan invited President
    Abdullah Gul to watch the soccer match between Turkish and Armenian
    national teams in Yerevan. After the relations between Turkey and
    Armenia and Armenia and Azerbaijan are fully normalized, the situation
    in the region will change considerably," he was quoted as saying.

    Babacan met with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian and later
    paid a visit of courtesy to Sargsyan, in the sidelines of the
    conference. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said on Saturday that
    the talks were quite productive.

    Sargsyan said that important developments could happen in
    Turkey-Armenia relations in the second half of the year, the agency
    reported. Armenia aimed at developing its cooperation ties with all
    regional countries to make southern Caucasus an alternate route of
    transportation, he added.

    Babacan last week met Nalbandian on the sidelines of the annual
    meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, and said there has
    been an ongoing process between Turkey and Armenia, who have no
    diplomatic relations. He added that when a tangible outcome is
    achieved it would be announced.

    The two countries have no diplomatic relations and their border has
    been closed for more than a decade, as Armenia presses the
    international community with the backing of the diaspora to admit the
    so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey's call to
    investigate the allegations, and over Armenia's invasion of 20 percent
    territory of Azerbaijan.

    Babacan will proceed to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku from Germany
    on Sunday, and he would meet Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and
    President Ilham Aliyev there on Monday.
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