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PRESIDENT OF TURKEY ADMIRES LITHUANIAN BASKETBALL
Lithuanian Television, Vilnius, Lithuania
April 3 2013
Interview With Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey, With Jolanta
Paskeviciute
Turkey is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and is gaining
increasingly more influence in Europe. Some European politicians are
even saying that Turkey can become the new link between the East
and West, while others stress that only a small part of Turkey -
geographically and culturally - is in Europe. About the biggest
challenges that Turkey is facing, about ties with neighbours, about
the desire to become a member of the EU, and about basketball, which
probably is the biggest connection between Lithuania and Turkey.
Abdullah Gul, the president of Turkey who will come to Lithuania soon,
gave the exclusive interview to Jolanta Paskeviciute, a reporter of
LRT [Lithuanian Radio and Television], at his palace in Ankara.
[Paskeviciute] Mr President, increasingly more Lithuanians pick Turkey
as their vacation destination, and they already know this country,
but Lithuania to the people of Turkey is still a distant land. What
is your opinion about Lithuania?
[Gul] First of all, I would like to give my best wishes for your lady
president - it was a great pleasure to accept her invitation.
Meanwhile, I have already had a chance to visit your country. I
know how beautiful it is, I know about its history, culture, and the
value of its architecture. Vilnius was a European capital of culture,
and I already visited Lithuania when I was foreign minister.
Yes, increasingly more Lithuanians come to our country - we are a
country of tourism, and we try to create the best possible conditions
for them. Of course, I would like to see more Turkish people showing
interest in your country - investors, merchants, and tourists. As
far as I know, the Turkish Airlines will soon start flying directly
to Vilnius, so this will help boost our ties.
Lithuania and Turkey have had friendly ties for a long time - we had
signed a friendship treaty back in 1930, and when the Soviet Union
army occupied your country, we rejected this act. When you regained
your independence, Lithuania and Turkey opened embassies in 1992,
and tourism ties help us get to know each other increasingly more.
[Paskeviciute] Does the heritage of the Osman Empire help or obstruct
in the modern political arena?
[Gul] Of course, we are proud of the Osman Empire and our history.
However, today Turkey is a republic, and this was achieved thanks
to our past leaders and intellectuals. Many institutions that are
still in existence today go back to the Osman Empire, for example,
the Supreme Court or the State Service - they have a very long history.
However, today Turkey is a different country - it is a democratic
country, it is a member of NATO, and it is active in European
institutions; we were among the creators of the European Council, we
actively participate in the activities of the Human Rights court, and
we are continuing the talks regarding EU membership. Of course, when
we have dealings with the Balkan countries, countries of the Central
Eastern Europe, or the Baltic states, historical ties help is in our
foreign policy. Next year we will be commemorating the anniversary
of 600 years of diplomatic ties with Poland. Therefore, historical
ties provide many advantages, but today the policy of Turkey is in
line with historical realities; for us stability in the region and
our ties with our partners in NATO and EU institutions are important.
[Paskeviciute] Turkey is an active member of NATO. Does the successful
membership in NATO stimulate you to strive for membership in the EU?
[Gul] These organizations are not connected with each other. We were
one of the first seven members of NATO - we joined NATO in 1952. Ties
with the EU are also as old as the common market - we signed the
customs treaty in 1996, way before some members of the EU. Therefore,
we do not have customs barriers with any of the EU members. Turkey
is one of the most important countries of the continent. Therefore,
EU membership is a reality that Turkey deserves.
[Paskeviciute] What is the situation of the talks with the EU today?
[Gul] We have to be realistic - Turkey is a huge country in terms of
the economy and the number of residents. The talks with such countries
are more difficult - for example, it took the UK almost 12 years to
join the EU, and two times this was vetoed. The talks with Spain were
conducted for ten years.
The economy of Turkey is fifth in terms of its size on the continent.
The GDP of Turkey is a trillion dollars, and the country has a big
population. Therefore, naturally, the talks with such a big country
are continued for a long time. However, I want to emphasize - we have
fulfilled all political requirements. Meanwhile, today, when many
European countries are experiencing a crisis, the budget deficit
of Turkey is merely 1.5 per cent of the GDP. Not only the level of
budget deficit, but also the level of debt is much better than in
some of the EU states.
In any case, we are voluntarily trying to fulfil the conditions of
the talks, and I am certain that the countries that are artificially
creating obstacles will understand that they would benefit from
Turkey's membership. By the way, during the chairmanship of Lithuania,
which will start in July, there will be more significant changes.
Ireland was applying a lot of effort, and during your chairmanship
we expect even more significant changes.
[Paskeviciute] One of the obstacles is the problem of Cyprus. How do
you feel about the fact that it is the Greek part of Cyprus that is
overcome by chaos?
[Gul] We do not wish such difficulties for any country and any
peoples. The economic crisis in the Greek portion of Cyprus is very
sad, and I hope that they will pass the right decisions regarding
their economic policy. After all, such crises do not fall down from
the sky - they keep accumulating because of wrong economic policies.
Such populist politics at first are liked by people, but over time
this explodes and leads to such a suffering. All one can do is learn
from this.
Talking about the political perspective, Turkey supports a peaceful
solution; under the leadership of the UN in 2004 a joint plan for
uniting Cyprus was drafted, which was supported by the EU, too. The
Turkish Cypriots supported the plan, too. Unfortunately, the Greeks in
Cyprus rejected it during a referendum, but now after the elections
they have a new president, and I hope that the peace talks will be
renewed. Uniting the island would be useful in many respects - the
economy of Cyprus would become larger, Turkey and Greece would be
working with the entire island, completely different opportunities
would be opened.
[Paskeviciute] The heritage of the Osman Empire still determines the
ties with the neighbouring Armenia today. What could help solve the
dead end situation?
[Gul] Unfortunately, we are not satisfied with the ties with our
neighbours - Armenia. However, we are trying really hard in order to
improve ties with the entire region of Caucasus, and we really want
to make sure that it becomes a region of cooperation. I have just
talked about the fact that uniting the island of Cyprus would create
greater opportunities. Similarly, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
- countries that are east off Turkey - also have the potential of
becoming a region of cooperation.
In 2008, I was the first president of Turkey who visited Armenia,
and this was a clear proof of our good will; I was invited to watch
a soccer match, and after that the president of Armenia visited Turkey.
Today, ties are not developing as vigorously as they were a few years
ago, but I hope that they will improve.
[Paskeviciute] What do you think about statements that the EU is a
club of Christian countries?
[Gul] It is not right to talk about the EU this way, because the
EU does not see itself as a religious club. In addition to the
Christians, there are people of all kinds of faiths living in Europe
- Jews, 13 million Muslims live in EU countries. For Europe it is
not religion that is important - it is democracy, the rule of law,
market economy. These are the values that unite Europe, and the
various religions are a wealth of Europe.
[Paskeviciute] However, in the West fears are growing that Turkey
is turning from its secular policy, and this is tied to the current
government and elite of Turkey. What are the values of Turkey and
its elite?
[Gul] In my opinion, this opinion is not correct. Over the past decade,
Turkey initiated and implemented reforms and now it is more integrated
in the world. In the past we used to be a more closed off country,
but now Turkey is a country that is open to the world, and more people
come to Turkey. More foreign capital flows into Turkey.
Just over the past decade, 120 billion dollars of foreign capital has
been invested into Turkey, because people believe in the future of
Turkey and are competing over the opportunity to invest in Turkey. The
constitution of Turkey is secular, and no one has doubts about it.
Another thing is the freedom of religion - this is one of the most
important principles of the secular state. Every person has the
freedom to choose his or her religion, and no one experiences any
obstacles over this. Therefore, such an opinion is unfounded.
[Paskeviciute] Syria is also a neighbour of Turkey. What do you think
about the consequences of the Arab Spring in general? How can the
current situation in Syria be solved? Does Turkey feel more secure
now, when the NATO antimissile systems Patriot have been deployed at
the border with Syria?
[Gul] Of course, I would not wish for any country such a thing as civil
war next to its border. We would like to see Syria peaceful, secure,
democratic, and with happy people. However, today three million Syrians
have been forced to flee their homes. Turkey accepted approximately
200 thousand of the Syrian refugees. We try to create the necessary
conditions for them in the camps - we have spent approximately one
billion dollars, and we will continue to spend money on this. Of
course, security questions are important to us. Therefore, Turkey,
which is a NATO member, took measures. However, we do not intend to
go to war with Syria, definitely not. We just want to defend ourselves
against a possible threat of chemical weapons.
However, I hope that the civil war will end soon, and we will forget
those horrible days. Meanwhile, talking about the Arab Spring, I can
say that in today's world there is no room for authoritarian regimes.
Just like in the Soviet Union, they reached the dead end in Libya,
Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria - people no longer wanted to suffer from
the authoritarian dictators. However, it is not easy to switch
to democracy in the countries, where autocratic structures were
entrenched. We see how this is happening, but I hope that they will
manage to reach democracy.
[Paskeviciute] How will this end in Syria?
[Gul] It is difficult to say now. On the one side there are people
who are demanding legitimate things, and on the other side there is
the regime that is fighting against them. The opposition represents
the majority, so they should win. However, it is difficult to say
what would help to end this faster, so that there would be fewer
casualties and destructions, so that there would be new order, which
is very difficult to implement after such an internal conflict.
[Paskeviciute] Lithuania will soon welcome not only the president of
Turkey, but also the person. Therefore, what kind of person are you,
Mr President? What is important and valuable to you?
[Gul] Well, above all I want to see Turkey as a strong country -
I am talking about democracy, economics, politics, and human rights
standards. I am proud to be the leader of the country that is moving
in this direction, and I am proud of its input in the world. My values
are important to me, but I also respect values of others. I believe
in friendship and cooperation between people.
Meanwhile, talking about Lithuania, I have to mention a thing that is
important to both of our countries - basketball. Lithuania is ahead
of Turkey in this game. Even during the Soviet Union era, Lithuanians
were the major part of the national team. In Turkey, basketball is
second after soccer. During the world championship that was held in
Istanbul Lithuania won bronze in 2009. The Lithuanian youth national
team did well during the world championship in Latvia. It was a great
pleasure to watch the games, and, after all, Lithuania and basketball
are inseparable.
[Translated from Lithuanian]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Lithuanian Television, Vilnius, Lithuania
April 3 2013
Interview With Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey, With Jolanta
Paskeviciute
Turkey is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and is gaining
increasingly more influence in Europe. Some European politicians are
even saying that Turkey can become the new link between the East
and West, while others stress that only a small part of Turkey -
geographically and culturally - is in Europe. About the biggest
challenges that Turkey is facing, about ties with neighbours, about
the desire to become a member of the EU, and about basketball, which
probably is the biggest connection between Lithuania and Turkey.
Abdullah Gul, the president of Turkey who will come to Lithuania soon,
gave the exclusive interview to Jolanta Paskeviciute, a reporter of
LRT [Lithuanian Radio and Television], at his palace in Ankara.
[Paskeviciute] Mr President, increasingly more Lithuanians pick Turkey
as their vacation destination, and they already know this country,
but Lithuania to the people of Turkey is still a distant land. What
is your opinion about Lithuania?
[Gul] First of all, I would like to give my best wishes for your lady
president - it was a great pleasure to accept her invitation.
Meanwhile, I have already had a chance to visit your country. I
know how beautiful it is, I know about its history, culture, and the
value of its architecture. Vilnius was a European capital of culture,
and I already visited Lithuania when I was foreign minister.
Yes, increasingly more Lithuanians come to our country - we are a
country of tourism, and we try to create the best possible conditions
for them. Of course, I would like to see more Turkish people showing
interest in your country - investors, merchants, and tourists. As
far as I know, the Turkish Airlines will soon start flying directly
to Vilnius, so this will help boost our ties.
Lithuania and Turkey have had friendly ties for a long time - we had
signed a friendship treaty back in 1930, and when the Soviet Union
army occupied your country, we rejected this act. When you regained
your independence, Lithuania and Turkey opened embassies in 1992,
and tourism ties help us get to know each other increasingly more.
[Paskeviciute] Does the heritage of the Osman Empire help or obstruct
in the modern political arena?
[Gul] Of course, we are proud of the Osman Empire and our history.
However, today Turkey is a republic, and this was achieved thanks
to our past leaders and intellectuals. Many institutions that are
still in existence today go back to the Osman Empire, for example,
the Supreme Court or the State Service - they have a very long history.
However, today Turkey is a different country - it is a democratic
country, it is a member of NATO, and it is active in European
institutions; we were among the creators of the European Council, we
actively participate in the activities of the Human Rights court, and
we are continuing the talks regarding EU membership. Of course, when
we have dealings with the Balkan countries, countries of the Central
Eastern Europe, or the Baltic states, historical ties help is in our
foreign policy. Next year we will be commemorating the anniversary
of 600 years of diplomatic ties with Poland. Therefore, historical
ties provide many advantages, but today the policy of Turkey is in
line with historical realities; for us stability in the region and
our ties with our partners in NATO and EU institutions are important.
[Paskeviciute] Turkey is an active member of NATO. Does the successful
membership in NATO stimulate you to strive for membership in the EU?
[Gul] These organizations are not connected with each other. We were
one of the first seven members of NATO - we joined NATO in 1952. Ties
with the EU are also as old as the common market - we signed the
customs treaty in 1996, way before some members of the EU. Therefore,
we do not have customs barriers with any of the EU members. Turkey
is one of the most important countries of the continent. Therefore,
EU membership is a reality that Turkey deserves.
[Paskeviciute] What is the situation of the talks with the EU today?
[Gul] We have to be realistic - Turkey is a huge country in terms of
the economy and the number of residents. The talks with such countries
are more difficult - for example, it took the UK almost 12 years to
join the EU, and two times this was vetoed. The talks with Spain were
conducted for ten years.
The economy of Turkey is fifth in terms of its size on the continent.
The GDP of Turkey is a trillion dollars, and the country has a big
population. Therefore, naturally, the talks with such a big country
are continued for a long time. However, I want to emphasize - we have
fulfilled all political requirements. Meanwhile, today, when many
European countries are experiencing a crisis, the budget deficit
of Turkey is merely 1.5 per cent of the GDP. Not only the level of
budget deficit, but also the level of debt is much better than in
some of the EU states.
In any case, we are voluntarily trying to fulfil the conditions of
the talks, and I am certain that the countries that are artificially
creating obstacles will understand that they would benefit from
Turkey's membership. By the way, during the chairmanship of Lithuania,
which will start in July, there will be more significant changes.
Ireland was applying a lot of effort, and during your chairmanship
we expect even more significant changes.
[Paskeviciute] One of the obstacles is the problem of Cyprus. How do
you feel about the fact that it is the Greek part of Cyprus that is
overcome by chaos?
[Gul] We do not wish such difficulties for any country and any
peoples. The economic crisis in the Greek portion of Cyprus is very
sad, and I hope that they will pass the right decisions regarding
their economic policy. After all, such crises do not fall down from
the sky - they keep accumulating because of wrong economic policies.
Such populist politics at first are liked by people, but over time
this explodes and leads to such a suffering. All one can do is learn
from this.
Talking about the political perspective, Turkey supports a peaceful
solution; under the leadership of the UN in 2004 a joint plan for
uniting Cyprus was drafted, which was supported by the EU, too. The
Turkish Cypriots supported the plan, too. Unfortunately, the Greeks in
Cyprus rejected it during a referendum, but now after the elections
they have a new president, and I hope that the peace talks will be
renewed. Uniting the island would be useful in many respects - the
economy of Cyprus would become larger, Turkey and Greece would be
working with the entire island, completely different opportunities
would be opened.
[Paskeviciute] The heritage of the Osman Empire still determines the
ties with the neighbouring Armenia today. What could help solve the
dead end situation?
[Gul] Unfortunately, we are not satisfied with the ties with our
neighbours - Armenia. However, we are trying really hard in order to
improve ties with the entire region of Caucasus, and we really want
to make sure that it becomes a region of cooperation. I have just
talked about the fact that uniting the island of Cyprus would create
greater opportunities. Similarly, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
- countries that are east off Turkey - also have the potential of
becoming a region of cooperation.
In 2008, I was the first president of Turkey who visited Armenia,
and this was a clear proof of our good will; I was invited to watch
a soccer match, and after that the president of Armenia visited Turkey.
Today, ties are not developing as vigorously as they were a few years
ago, but I hope that they will improve.
[Paskeviciute] What do you think about statements that the EU is a
club of Christian countries?
[Gul] It is not right to talk about the EU this way, because the
EU does not see itself as a religious club. In addition to the
Christians, there are people of all kinds of faiths living in Europe
- Jews, 13 million Muslims live in EU countries. For Europe it is
not religion that is important - it is democracy, the rule of law,
market economy. These are the values that unite Europe, and the
various religions are a wealth of Europe.
[Paskeviciute] However, in the West fears are growing that Turkey
is turning from its secular policy, and this is tied to the current
government and elite of Turkey. What are the values of Turkey and
its elite?
[Gul] In my opinion, this opinion is not correct. Over the past decade,
Turkey initiated and implemented reforms and now it is more integrated
in the world. In the past we used to be a more closed off country,
but now Turkey is a country that is open to the world, and more people
come to Turkey. More foreign capital flows into Turkey.
Just over the past decade, 120 billion dollars of foreign capital has
been invested into Turkey, because people believe in the future of
Turkey and are competing over the opportunity to invest in Turkey. The
constitution of Turkey is secular, and no one has doubts about it.
Another thing is the freedom of religion - this is one of the most
important principles of the secular state. Every person has the
freedom to choose his or her religion, and no one experiences any
obstacles over this. Therefore, such an opinion is unfounded.
[Paskeviciute] Syria is also a neighbour of Turkey. What do you think
about the consequences of the Arab Spring in general? How can the
current situation in Syria be solved? Does Turkey feel more secure
now, when the NATO antimissile systems Patriot have been deployed at
the border with Syria?
[Gul] Of course, I would not wish for any country such a thing as civil
war next to its border. We would like to see Syria peaceful, secure,
democratic, and with happy people. However, today three million Syrians
have been forced to flee their homes. Turkey accepted approximately
200 thousand of the Syrian refugees. We try to create the necessary
conditions for them in the camps - we have spent approximately one
billion dollars, and we will continue to spend money on this. Of
course, security questions are important to us. Therefore, Turkey,
which is a NATO member, took measures. However, we do not intend to
go to war with Syria, definitely not. We just want to defend ourselves
against a possible threat of chemical weapons.
However, I hope that the civil war will end soon, and we will forget
those horrible days. Meanwhile, talking about the Arab Spring, I can
say that in today's world there is no room for authoritarian regimes.
Just like in the Soviet Union, they reached the dead end in Libya,
Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria - people no longer wanted to suffer from
the authoritarian dictators. However, it is not easy to switch
to democracy in the countries, where autocratic structures were
entrenched. We see how this is happening, but I hope that they will
manage to reach democracy.
[Paskeviciute] How will this end in Syria?
[Gul] It is difficult to say now. On the one side there are people
who are demanding legitimate things, and on the other side there is
the regime that is fighting against them. The opposition represents
the majority, so they should win. However, it is difficult to say
what would help to end this faster, so that there would be fewer
casualties and destructions, so that there would be new order, which
is very difficult to implement after such an internal conflict.
[Paskeviciute] Lithuania will soon welcome not only the president of
Turkey, but also the person. Therefore, what kind of person are you,
Mr President? What is important and valuable to you?
[Gul] Well, above all I want to see Turkey as a strong country -
I am talking about democracy, economics, politics, and human rights
standards. I am proud to be the leader of the country that is moving
in this direction, and I am proud of its input in the world. My values
are important to me, but I also respect values of others. I believe
in friendship and cooperation between people.
Meanwhile, talking about Lithuania, I have to mention a thing that is
important to both of our countries - basketball. Lithuania is ahead
of Turkey in this game. Even during the Soviet Union era, Lithuanians
were the major part of the national team. In Turkey, basketball is
second after soccer. During the world championship that was held in
Istanbul Lithuania won bronze in 2009. The Lithuanian youth national
team did well during the world championship in Latvia. It was a great
pleasure to watch the games, and, after all, Lithuania and basketball
are inseparable.
[Translated from Lithuanian]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress