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FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS TURKEY HAS BECOME "AN INFLUENTIAL AND WISE COUNTRY"
Anadolu Agency
Dec 29 2010
Turkey
The Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday that Turkey would
become an influential and wise country whose principles, values and
suggestions would be seriously taken into account in 2011.
Speaking at a TV programme broadcast by TRT-1 Channel, Turkish
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu said one of the main
goals of Turkish foreign policy in 2010 had been improvement of
Turkey's "visibility" in the international arena and such goal had
been achieved successfully.
Davutoglu said, Turkey had not only managed to strengthen its
strategic ties with NATO, EU and Council of Europe in 2010, but it
had also expanded its cooperation areas with neighbouring countries
and extended its activities to new regions such as Africa, Far East
and Latin America.
Davutoglu said Turkey blended the values of the East and the West in
the best way.
"We have all the opportunities to act as a country that creates
solutions in areas of clash and leads the way for others. We have the
chance to become the world's wise country. This is our next goal. We
want to become a country that has principles and values and a certain
power of influence," the minister said.
Commenting on the negotiation process with Iran on nuclear issue,
Davutoglu said Turkey had been displaying an accurate and principled
policy on the matter.
"We will definitely intervene in the process. Because, every
crisis that we did not step in caused our nation to pay the price,
strengthened terrorism and led to economic problems in the past. We
cannot be indifferent to matters related to our neighbour Iran,
especially to the nuclear issue," he said.
"The world knows how effective Turkey's Iran policy is. Therefore,
the ball comes back to our field every time," the minister added.
Regarding the attack on Mavi Marmara and Turkey-Israel relations,
Davutoglu said Turkey still waited for an apology and compensation
from Israel.
"Turkey's demands are clear. We are as determined as we were on May 31
(the day of the attack). If Israel wants to normalize its relations
with Turkey, it should take this fact into account," he said.
Upon a question on whether he thought the Armenian resolution would
be on USA's agenda again next April, Davutoglu said some circles in
the US Congress tried to exert pressure over Turkey through votes of
congressmen who did not have accurate information on the matter.
The minister said such issue should not be a tool of blackmail in
Turkey-USA relations anymore.
Davutoglu also said he did not expect a turbulence in Turkey-USA
relations in April 2011, on the contrary, Turkey's goal was to build
up a closer cooperation with USA.
From: A. Papazian
Anadolu Agency
Dec 29 2010
Turkey
The Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday that Turkey would
become an influential and wise country whose principles, values and
suggestions would be seriously taken into account in 2011.
Speaking at a TV programme broadcast by TRT-1 Channel, Turkish
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu said one of the main
goals of Turkish foreign policy in 2010 had been improvement of
Turkey's "visibility" in the international arena and such goal had
been achieved successfully.
Davutoglu said, Turkey had not only managed to strengthen its
strategic ties with NATO, EU and Council of Europe in 2010, but it
had also expanded its cooperation areas with neighbouring countries
and extended its activities to new regions such as Africa, Far East
and Latin America.
Davutoglu said Turkey blended the values of the East and the West in
the best way.
"We have all the opportunities to act as a country that creates
solutions in areas of clash and leads the way for others. We have the
chance to become the world's wise country. This is our next goal. We
want to become a country that has principles and values and a certain
power of influence," the minister said.
Commenting on the negotiation process with Iran on nuclear issue,
Davutoglu said Turkey had been displaying an accurate and principled
policy on the matter.
"We will definitely intervene in the process. Because, every
crisis that we did not step in caused our nation to pay the price,
strengthened terrorism and led to economic problems in the past. We
cannot be indifferent to matters related to our neighbour Iran,
especially to the nuclear issue," he said.
"The world knows how effective Turkey's Iran policy is. Therefore,
the ball comes back to our field every time," the minister added.
Regarding the attack on Mavi Marmara and Turkey-Israel relations,
Davutoglu said Turkey still waited for an apology and compensation
from Israel.
"Turkey's demands are clear. We are as determined as we were on May 31
(the day of the attack). If Israel wants to normalize its relations
with Turkey, it should take this fact into account," he said.
Upon a question on whether he thought the Armenian resolution would
be on USA's agenda again next April, Davutoglu said some circles in
the US Congress tried to exert pressure over Turkey through votes of
congressmen who did not have accurate information on the matter.
The minister said such issue should not be a tool of blackmail in
Turkey-USA relations anymore.
Davutoglu also said he did not expect a turbulence in Turkey-USA
relations in April 2011, on the contrary, Turkey's goal was to build
up a closer cooperation with USA.
From: A. Papazian