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Turkish Press Review, 97-01-08Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWWEDNESDAY JANUARY 8, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURKISH COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ON BOOSTING EAST AND SOUTHEASTThe Turkish Council of Ministers, marking their 18th gathering, will meet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in the eastern town of Agri today. Social and economic measures for the eastern and southeastern regions will be announced at the meeting and several regional businesses and facilities will be opened during the visit as well. Erbakan and the ministers will first attend the opening of Agri airport, an abattoir, a municipal bazaar and a sports centre, all of which are expected to play important roles in the area's development. /All papers/[02] A FRIENDSHIP MESSAGE FROM WEIZMANTurkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli, who is in Israel, was received by Israeli President Ezer Weizman yesterday. In a brief statement to Milliyet newspaper, Weizman said that peace and stability in the Middle East would not only benefit Arabs and Israelis but also benefit Turks. Weizman briefed a Turkish delegation headed by Kalemli regarding the Middle East peace process and recent developments in the region.Kalemli, for his part, noted that they were visiting Israel to develop Turco-Israeli cooperation at the parliamentarian level in addition to political and economic levels. Kalemli conveyed Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's greetings and a goodwill message to Weizman. Kalemli is expected to meet Yasser Arafat today. /Milliyet/ [03] INTERNATIONAL AIR TERMINAL OPENS IN ADANAForeign minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, on Tuesday attended the opening of a new international air terminal at Adana airport. Speaking at the ceremony, Ciller said: "We are working for a better Turkey -more services are to be provided". The terminal has been built on a 6,000 square meter plot of land with a price tag of TL 450 billion. With the new building in use, the number of passangers is expected to jump to 2.5 million. Ciller said that an airport situated between Adana and Mersin would soon open as well. /All papers/[04] TURKEY TO GIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO TRNCPrime Minister and Welfare Party (RP) Chairman Necmettin Erbakan told members of the RP Parliamentary group that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) had signed an economic cooperation agreement last week under which $250 million would be given to the TRNC in 1997. Erbakan said that this financial support would raise the national income per person in the TRNC to $5,000 from $4,000. "The TRNC will never be an instrument that will serve Enosis, either by making Southern Cyprus a member of the European Union or by other means. Turkey and international agreements won't allow it. Turkey gives priority to the Cyprus problem" said Erbakan. /All papers/[05] US RAPS GREEK CYPRIOTS ON MISSILESThe US administration on Monday sent an uncharacteristically stiff message to the Greek-Cypriot administration for its decision to go ahead with the purchase of Russian S-300 anti-aircraft systems. Nicholas Burns, State Department Spokesman, said the US government "regrets this step" since the purchase of this "sophisticated anti-aircraft system" will complicate efforts to achieve a lasting peace in Cyprus". Burns characterized the decision to buy such missiles as "a step down the wrong path". The sales contract "makes any mediation effort that much more difficult and harms the political atmosphere" he said. When it was implied that Turkey might react militarily to the situation, Burns said: "We certainly hope and believe that there will be no military reaction. That would be absolutely beyond the bounds".Meanwhile, the Greek Cypriot administration on Tuesday rejected US criticism of its purchase of Russian anti-aircraft missiles and maintained the system was essential for its defence needs. "There is no question of cancelling the agreement" Cypriot government spokesman Yiannakis Cassaoulides was quoted by Reuters as saying in Nicosia. /Milliyet/ [06] RUSSIAN COMPANY JOINS BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE PLANThe Russian company Transneft has announced that it will participate in the construction of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline if this is agreeable to Azerbaijan. Responding to press questions, company chief Valeri Cernyayev said Transneft was ready to take on any projects regarding the pipeline and that the company had sent an official written response to Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller's proposal outlined during her last visit to Russia.Noting that Azerbaijanis have enough oil to export via both the eastern and western routes, he said Azerbaijan would decide which route would be chosen. Cernyayev said the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline was ready for oil export, and that there were no problems with the Chechnyan segment of the line. /All papers/ [07] NOVEMBER INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT RISES 5.5 %Turkey's industrial output rose by 5.5 % in November, compared with a 15.5 % growth in October, the State Institute of Statistics (SIS) said yesterday. Industrial production growth was up 10.9 % in November 1995, the SIS said. It said the manufacturing sector grew by 5.3 % year-on-year in November, compared with 11.3 % in November 1995.According to the SIS, production in the manufacturing sector increased by 5.9 %, in the energy sector by 11 % and in the mining sector by 5.6 % during the first 11 months of 1996. /Sabah/ [08] BANK KAPITAL SIGNS 22.5 MILLION MARK LOANTurkey's private Bank Kapital signed a 22.5 million mark syndicated loan accord on Tuesday, the bank said in a statement. It said the one-year pre-export financing loan was provided by an 11-bank consortium led by Berliner Bank. /Sabah/[09] AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS INCREASEAutomotive exports increased by 11 % in 1996 when compared with 1995 and reached $1.4 billion. The rate of capacity utilization in the automotive sector was only 37 %. /Sabah/[10] KINKEL SAYS TURKEY TURNING AWAY FROM EUROPEGerman Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said yesterday that Turkey was turning towards closer ties with its Moslem neighbours out of deep disappointment with the EU's failure to help resolve problems involving Turkey. Istanbul's plans to host a summit this year with leaders of eight Moslem countries to boost economic cooperation were not simply the result of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's more pro-Islamic political views" he said. "Turkey feels that it is wrongly treated by Europe" he told journalists.Turkey has complained bitterly to the EU that it has received no benefits from a new customs union with Brussels because Greece has blocked any bid by the EU to extend funds linked to the trade deal, he added. Kinkel, at a news conference reviewing foreign policy issues for 1997, said Islamic principles would become an increasingly important factor in the foreign policy of Moslem countries. /Milliyet/ [11] NEW POLITICAL PARTYThe new Democratic Turkey Party was founded yesterday with six founding members. An application for the legal establishment of the party was handed in to the Interior Ministry yesterday by the party leaders.The founding of a new party means that there will now be seven parties represented in the Turkish parliament. There will be six parliamentarians, twenty-six former parliamentarians and former ministers in the new party. /Sabah/ [12] NEW VISA DEAL WITH GERMANYFollowing the Schengen Agreement for travel in the European Union (EU), children under sixteen years of age who want to visit Germany for any reason at all, will benefit from a "Schengen visa."The new arrangement will come into effect on January 15, 1997, and means that individuals under sixteen years of age will be able to travel more easily to Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Spain and Portugal. /Sabah/ END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |