Tweet
Today's zaman, Turkey
May 6 2011
Armenia, Israel not to attend UN summit, says Turkish Foreign Ministry
06 May 2011, Friday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
Israel and Armenia, two countries that have problematic relations with
Turkey, will not attend a UN summit of Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) in Ä°stanbul next week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on
Friday.
Israel and Armenia, both invited by the UN to attend the summit, will
not send political delegations to the gathering, Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Selçuk Ã`nal told a news conference. The two countries will,
however, attend the summit, due to take place on May 9-13, only at the
technical level, he added.
Relations between Turkey and Israel took a nosedive when Israeli
commandos killed eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish American on
an aid ship that was trying to break a blockade of the Gaza Strip on
May 31 of last year. Armenia has no diplomatic relations with Turkey
and efforts to normalize ties suffered a setback when Turkey demanded
progress in Armenia's Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
About 50 countries are expected to attend the summit at the level of
leaders. Seventy-five will send ministers while another 30 will send
deputy ministers to the UN summit. The government has said invitations
were sent to individual countries by the UN, not Turkey, which is only
hosting the gathering.
Syria and Libya
Ã`nal also responded to questions on the situation in Libya and Syria.
`We expect a cease-fire to be declared as soon as possible,' Ã`nal said
of Libya. He was speaking a day after Italian Foreign Minister Franco
Frattini said his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu, had called for
a cease-fire in Libya within seven days during a meeting of an
international contact group on Libya in Rome.
On Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is facing growing protests,
Ã`nal said Turkey continues to encourage the Syrian authorities to
institute economic and political reform.
From: A. Papazian
May 6 2011
Armenia, Israel not to attend UN summit, says Turkish Foreign Ministry
06 May 2011, Friday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
Israel and Armenia, two countries that have problematic relations with
Turkey, will not attend a UN summit of Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) in Ä°stanbul next week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on
Friday.
Israel and Armenia, both invited by the UN to attend the summit, will
not send political delegations to the gathering, Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Selçuk Ã`nal told a news conference. The two countries will,
however, attend the summit, due to take place on May 9-13, only at the
technical level, he added.
Relations between Turkey and Israel took a nosedive when Israeli
commandos killed eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish American on
an aid ship that was trying to break a blockade of the Gaza Strip on
May 31 of last year. Armenia has no diplomatic relations with Turkey
and efforts to normalize ties suffered a setback when Turkey demanded
progress in Armenia's Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
About 50 countries are expected to attend the summit at the level of
leaders. Seventy-five will send ministers while another 30 will send
deputy ministers to the UN summit. The government has said invitations
were sent to individual countries by the UN, not Turkey, which is only
hosting the gathering.
Syria and Libya
Ã`nal also responded to questions on the situation in Libya and Syria.
`We expect a cease-fire to be declared as soon as possible,' Ã`nal said
of Libya. He was speaking a day after Italian Foreign Minister Franco
Frattini said his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu, had called for
a cease-fire in Libya within seven days during a meeting of an
international contact group on Libya in Rome.
On Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is facing growing protests,
Ã`nal said Turkey continues to encourage the Syrian authorities to
institute economic and political reform.
From: A. Papazian