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Turkish Press Review, 04-07-27
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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e-mail :
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
27.07.2004
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CONTENTS
[01] GUL: �THE EU SHOULD KEEP ITS PROMISE TO END THE TRNC�S ISOLATION�
[02] ERDOGAN DUE IN IRAN
[03] IRAN�S RAMAZANZADE: �ERDOGAN�S VISIT WILL STRENGTHEN BILATERAL RELATIONS�
[04] CABINET TO FORM TEAMS TO INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF TRAIN CRASH
[05] GERMAN AMBASSADOR VISITS BURSA
[06] EU TO PROVIDE 1 BILLION EUROS TO TURKEY OVER NEXT TWO YEARS
[07] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[08] THE IRANIAN OPENING
[09] BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] GUL: �THE EU SHOULD KEEP ITS PROMISE TO END THE TRNC�S ISOLATION�
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his visiting Sudanese
counterpart Mustafa Osman Ismail to discuss bilateral relations. Speaking
afterwards, Gul said that Ankara would provide food aid for Sudan�s Darfur
region, which is suffering from massive famine. Also touching on the Cyprus
issue, Gul said that the
European Union should keep its promise to bring the international isolation
of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to an end. In related
news, the Foreign Ministry yesterday released a statement complaining that
the European Union member states� foreign ministers had made a commitment
to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots but so far had done nothing.
/Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN DUE IN IRAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan�s three-day official visit to Iran is
set to start today. During his trip, Erdogan is expected to ask Iran to
reduce natural gas prices and, in return, the premier will offer
cooperation in transporting Iranian natural gas to Europe. Other issues on
the agenda will be boosting the countries� bilateral trade volume,
cooperation against the terrorist group PKK, and a joint stance to preserve
Iraq�s territorial integrity. The Iranian government is reportedly expected
to transfer the management of the Imam Khomeini International Airport
(IKIA) to Turkish firm TAV, thus resolving a thorny dispute. /Hurriyet/
[03] IRAN�S RAMAZANZADE: �ERDOGAN�S VISIT WILL STRENGTHEN BILATERAL
RELATIONS�
Speaking at a press conference yesterday in the runup to Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan�s arrival in Tehran, Iranian government spokesman
Abdullah Ramazanzade said that Erdogan�s three-day official visit would
help to strengthen the two countries� relations, adding that both
governments wanted this. �During the premier�s visit, economic and regional
issues and border security will be discussed,� added Ramazanzade. /Turkiye/
[04] CABINET TO FORM TEAMS TO INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF TRAIN CRASH
The Cabinet convened yesterday to discuss a number of issues, including
last week�s deadly train crash in Sakarya. Speaking afterwards, government
spokesman and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said that the Cabinet had
decided to form three expert teams to investigate the cause of the crash.
Cicek said that the German delegation which arrived in Turkey last week is
due to release its report on the train crash tomorrow, adding that Dutch,
Spanish, and South Korean delegations are also expected to help investigate
the accident. /Aksam/
[05] GERMAN AMBASSADOR VISITS BURSA
German Ambassador to Turkey Wolf Ruthart Born yesterday visited Bursa
Governor Oguz Kagan Koksal. Born said that if the European Commission�s
fall progress report on Turkey is positive, then he didn�t expect any
problems at the December European Union summit, which could set a date for
Turkey�s accession talks to begin. �Turkey has always been a reliable
partner for Germany,� added Born. /Star/
[06] EU TO PROVIDE 1 BILLION EUROS TO TURKEY OVER NEXT TWO YEARS
The European Union General Affairs and Foreign Relations Council yesterday
convened in Brussels. During the meeting, the assembled foreign ministers
discussed the Union�s budget for 2007-2013. Under the new budget, the
foreign ministers decided to provide Turkey with 1 billion euros through
2006 in accession aid. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[08] THE IRANIAN OPENING
[09] BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkey�s relations with Syria and Iran. A
summary of his column is as follows:
�Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan�s two-day visit to Iran starting today
is meant to lend new impetus to Turkish-Iranian relations. This visit
coincides with a time when the US has stepped up its pressure on Iran and
discussions are taking place on how the West should treat Tehran. Erdogan�s
visit can also be considered a new indication of Turkish diplomacy opening
up to neighboring countries, particularly Syria and Iran, as a result of
the new conditions stemming from the war in Iraq. Turkish officials say
that this opening shouldn�t be regarded as an attempt to establish a
�triple alliance.� As a source close to Erdogan said, this shouldn�t be
considered a �formation of blocs� in the region. Turkey wants to develop
bilateral cooperation with its two neighbors. When the situation in Iraq
necessitates it, Ankara might hold common consultations with Tehran and
Damascus. However, talk of an alliance isn�t appropriate. Incidents in Iraq
have a great impact on Turkey�s rapprochement with Iran and Syria. Today
the three countries are in similar situations in terms of their role in
Iraq�s future and the Kurdish issue. Tehran and Damascus, just like Ankara,
want Iraq�s territorial integrity maintained and an end to the occupation
and don�t favor the establishment of a Kurdish state. In addition, Iran and
Syria share Turkey�s concerns over the activities of the PKK_KONGRA-GEL
terrorist group and support Turkey on this issue. Even if on a bilateral
basis, these three countries are continuing their Iraq policies in sync,
which is important internationally. This is a factor which might make
Washington think twice. In addition, this common stance might have a
deterring influence.
Turkey�s rapprochement with Iran and Syria might seem to be opposed to the
US� policies towards these two countries. Actually Washington�s opinions
and concerns on this issue are different from those of Ankara. Iran has
been on the top of the US� agenda. The report on the Sept. 11 attacks
accused Iran of indirectly helping al-Qaeda. Tehran opposes these claims
but the world is concerned if the Bush administration is preparing to
attack Iran. However, people generally think that the US will prefer
diplomacy to military force this time. The US doesn�t want such countries
as France and Germany to get closer to Iran. Probably certain circles in
Washington don�t favor Turkey�s opening either. However, as one official in
Ankara said, �Turkish diplomacy can contribute to Iran�s integration with
the world and soften its foreign relations. For this reason, Erdogan�s
visit to Tehran might be beneficial on the international stage�.�
ARCHIVE
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