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'HOLLANDE SPRING' IN TURKISH-EU RELATIONS
Hurriyet
June 22 2012
Turkey
FM Davutošlu hails a thaw in Turkey-EU ties as the bloc pledges to
ease Turks' visa procedures while Ankara ends sanctions against France
Turkey has ended sanctions against France thanks to newly elected
French President Francois Hollande's positive approach toward Turkey
in a restoration of ties that had deteriorated under the rule of
ex-French leader Nicholas Sarkozy.
The decision to end eight measures - mostly military - was given by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdošan after his meeting with Hollande
in Brazil late June 20, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutošlu said.
"Yesterday's meeting [between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdošan
and Hollande] is a new beginning," Davutošlu said in a televised
interview yesterday. "Sanctions will drop from the agenda thanks to
this new stance adopted by France."
Turkey closed its airspace and territorial waters to the French
army and reduced military ties late last December in reaction to
French Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee's approval of a law
criminalizing the denial of the alleged Armenian genocide. Hollande,
who had met Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Chicago during the
NATO summit, held a meeting with Erdošan in Rio de Janeiro on the
sidelines of another international summit.
New chapter
The two leaders agreed to open "a new chapter" in relations, according
to reports. Erdošan said there had been no official state visit
to Turkey by a French president in the last 20 years, and Hollande
replied that his future trip to Turkey would be a great privilege.
Davutošlu said he would make an official visit to Paris on July 5.
"After these talks, this stagnation in bilateral ties will hopefully
be over." One of the main expectations from France is the removal of
French blockage of five EU accession negotiation chapters. Diplomatic
sources are optimistic that Paris will lift its blockage as the French
Socialist Party is not against Turkish accession to the EU. The
normalization of ties between Turkey and France will also help the
two countries' cooperation in the international scene, particularly
with the crisis in Syria. Davutošlu said he would participate in the
Friends of the Syrian People group meeting to be held in Paris July 6.
Coming from Mexico, where Erdošan held important meetings with the
U.S. and Russian presidents, Davutošlu said Moscow also shared the
international community's concerns regarding Syria. "There is no
question that Russia admits that [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad
committed grave mistakes. We share the same opinions, but we differ
on the methodology," he said. "Moscow is against foreign intervention,
so are we."
In response to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, who said
Turkey was a superpower and Israel needed to come to terms with Turkey,
Davutošlu said it was a clear indication of the rise of Turkey as
the regional power.
Hurriyet
June 22 2012
Turkey
FM Davutošlu hails a thaw in Turkey-EU ties as the bloc pledges to
ease Turks' visa procedures while Ankara ends sanctions against France
Turkey has ended sanctions against France thanks to newly elected
French President Francois Hollande's positive approach toward Turkey
in a restoration of ties that had deteriorated under the rule of
ex-French leader Nicholas Sarkozy.
The decision to end eight measures - mostly military - was given by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdošan after his meeting with Hollande
in Brazil late June 20, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutošlu said.
"Yesterday's meeting [between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdošan
and Hollande] is a new beginning," Davutošlu said in a televised
interview yesterday. "Sanctions will drop from the agenda thanks to
this new stance adopted by France."
Turkey closed its airspace and territorial waters to the French
army and reduced military ties late last December in reaction to
French Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee's approval of a law
criminalizing the denial of the alleged Armenian genocide. Hollande,
who had met Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Chicago during the
NATO summit, held a meeting with Erdošan in Rio de Janeiro on the
sidelines of another international summit.
New chapter
The two leaders agreed to open "a new chapter" in relations, according
to reports. Erdošan said there had been no official state visit
to Turkey by a French president in the last 20 years, and Hollande
replied that his future trip to Turkey would be a great privilege.
Davutošlu said he would make an official visit to Paris on July 5.
"After these talks, this stagnation in bilateral ties will hopefully
be over." One of the main expectations from France is the removal of
French blockage of five EU accession negotiation chapters. Diplomatic
sources are optimistic that Paris will lift its blockage as the French
Socialist Party is not against Turkish accession to the EU. The
normalization of ties between Turkey and France will also help the
two countries' cooperation in the international scene, particularly
with the crisis in Syria. Davutošlu said he would participate in the
Friends of the Syrian People group meeting to be held in Paris July 6.
Coming from Mexico, where Erdošan held important meetings with the
U.S. and Russian presidents, Davutošlu said Moscow also shared the
international community's concerns regarding Syria. "There is no
question that Russia admits that [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad
committed grave mistakes. We share the same opinions, but we differ
on the methodology," he said. "Moscow is against foreign intervention,
so are we."
In response to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, who said
Turkey was a superpower and Israel needed to come to terms with Turkey,
Davutošlu said it was a clear indication of the rise of Turkey as
the regional power.