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Turkey's Accession To Bring Considerable Benefits To Europe

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  • Turkey's Accession To Bring Considerable Benefits To Europe

    TURKEY'S ACCESSION TO BRING CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS TO EUROPE

    news.am
    Nov 3 2009
    Armenia

    Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the former German chancellor
    Gerhard Schröder took the floor at the conference organized by
    SinpaÅ~_ Real Estate Investment Trust in the course of their visit
    to Turkey, Turkish Hurriyet daily reports.

    "Clinton praised Turkey for 'successful endorsement of secularism
    while letting people express religious beliefs without imposing them
    on others,' while Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor,
    urged the European Union to keep its promise toward Turkey on full
    membership."

    Clinton welcomed Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, though criticized
    the country for closing the Halki International Seminary. "You have
    to think: While your population is growing, why is your Christian
    Orthodox community shrinking?" he asked. "Do you think it is better
    for the Christian Orthodox community to fall under the influence of
    the Russian Church?" the former President said.

    "Clinton also recalled that he was an ardent supporter of Turkey's
    accession to the EU," the daily reads. He underlined that his
    "efforts on Turkey's EU membership were also 'for the good of the
    American people'. Clinton reminded of the fact that Baku-Tbilisi-
    Ceyhan oil pipeline was constructed his "tenure." ""I am happy to
    see Turkey's energy interconnections continue to expand," he stated.

    In his turn, Gerhard Schröder expressed regret on the fact that
    "EU does not appreciate Turkey's role in solving regional conflicts."

    Commenting on Armenia-Turkey reconciliation, Schröder said Turkey
    played a crucial role "in helping find solutions to conflicts in
    its region."

    "Schröder said Turkey's role in energy security will also be vital,
    especially with the Nabucco and South Stream projects. As an adviser
    to Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, he was careful to mention that these
    two projects are not competing with each other.

    Nabucco aims to bring Caspian gas to Europe via Turkey to reduce
    European dependence to Russia, while South Stream, a project
    spearheaded by Russia, aims to provide an alternative route to the
    Ukrainian route, which has proven to be problematic in the past,"
    Hurriyet reads.
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