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Turkish Press Review, 97-11-04Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWDIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER04.11.97Newspot, General Directorate of Press and Information Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURCO-GREEK RELATIONS SOFTEN IN THE AFTERMATH OF CRETE SUMMITA decision to compromise emerged from the summit meeting of the Turkish and Greek prime ministers in Crete yesterday. The meeting is expected to lead to a softening in Turco-Greek relations following a recent rise of tensions in the Aegean.In a statement after the meeting, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the 75-minute talks with his Greek counterpart Simitis went on "in a constructive atmosphere" and promised "good results". Both prime ministers vowed to exert efforts to ease tensions in the Aegean. Yilmaz pointed out that if his Greek counterpart preserves his sincere approach to resolving bilateral problems, the two countries will manage to tackle disagreements. During the meeting Turkey and Greece voiced their detemination to stick to existing agreements and to activate security mechanisms agreed upon by the two countries. Yilmaz reiterated his calls for initiating bilateral dialogue without stating any preconditions. At a press conference, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis also described the meeting as "beneficial". He said that the meeting would help implement the measures agreed upon at an earlier Turco- Greek meeting in Madrid. Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz invited his Greek counterpart to pay an official visit to Ankara. Simitis in turn said he was pleased to accept the invitation. Today's newspapers provide extensive first-page coverage to the summit. Large photos of Yilmaz and Simitis warmly shaking hands with each other catch the eye on the front pages of the papers. The Turkish press welcomed the positive outcomes of the meeting and the determination of the two sides to "bury the hatchet", as a banner headline in a daily newspaper says. /All papers/ [02] KARADAYI: NO WAR IN THE AEGEANTurkish Chief of the General Staff, General Ismail Hakki Karadayi is quoted as saying that military exercises staged by Turkey and Greece separately in the Aegean went on in tranquility. Karadayi stressed that there was no enmity between the Turkish and Greek people and that the maneuvres held by the two countries in the Aegean could in no way escalate into a hot confrontation. He said that within this context it was not within the interest of either side to discuss the prospect of a Turco-Greek hot conflict and urged journalists to avoid talking about war. /Milliyet, Cumhuriyet/[03] PANGALOS CRISIS IN CRETEAt a press conference held prior to the summit meeting of Turkish and Greek prime ministers, Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos poured cold water on efforts to improve bilateral relations. The Greek foreign minister said that a country needs to recognize the compulsory jurisdiction of the Hague International Court of Justice in order to be accepted into the EU as a full member. According to Pangalos this condition was stated in EU documents.Turkey shies away from recognizing the compulsory jurisdiction of the Hague International Court of Justice. Turkey says that decisions rendered by the Hague are binding only if the two sides in a case have jointly applied to the Court. /Milliyet/ [04] SHOW OF FORCE IN CYPRUSThe joint military exercises between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue. The maneuvres aim to improve coordination between land, air and naval forces. The part of the exercises to be held on land will start today. Within the framework of the exercises, the Turkish forces will demonstrate their ability to defend themselves against a possible assault. A test attack against Russian-made S-300 missile is also included in the maneuvres programme. /Hurriyet/[05] DENKTAS TAKES HARD LINE WITH UNAfter holding separate talks with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and president of the Security Council, Qin Huasun, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas said that if the European Union (EU) continued talks with the Greek Cypriot community, then the TRNC would halt current talks with the Greek Cypriots.The EU has said that it will consider the membership of the Greek Cypriots in the EU, ignoring the views of the TRNC. The TRNC wants an equal share in decisions affecting the future of the island, and stressing this point, Denktas said yesterday that whether or not the EU recognized the TRNC as a government, nothing would be changed on the island until there was an established status quo between the two sides. /Hurriyet/ [06] FRENCH AWARDS FOR TURKISH FILM"Somersault in a Coffin" a film directed by Dervis Zaim has won three awards at the French Montpellier Film Festival. The film has attracted a lot of interest from both audiences and juries and has received accali.m in the French press. Ahmet Ugurlu plays the leading role in the film. /Hurriyet/[07] MEETINGS WITH IMF ON 10-11 NOVEMBERA Turkish delegation will visit the US on 10-11 November to meet with International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials. The delegation will present a programme of financial targets. A programme which the IMF has devised for Turkey will also be negotiated during the meetings. /Sabah/[08] COMPETITION COUNCIL TAKES OFFICEThe Council for the Regulation of Competition takes office after a three-year delay. The Council will begin to examine the applications to be made within the framework of the laws regulating competition by tomorrow. Industry and Trade Minister Yalim Erez said that the council would be only the political voice of the competition laws and would not intervene in markets. /Sabah/[09] BIR: GREEKS HAVE VIOLATED THE RULESDeputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff Gen.Cevik Bir harshly criticized Greece and said: "According to NATO rules, exercises are not held on national and religious days. Notwithstanding, Greece started its exercise (Parmenion) on 29 October, Turkish Republic Day, instead of 1 November and thus violated the rules. Therefore we had to hold our exercises". Bir, attending a conference on "Turkey and Europe" organized by the German Bertelsmen Foundation, delivered a speech which noted that although suggestions had been made to Greece about not holding the "Nikiforos" exercise, Greece refused to listen. /Sabah/[10] OSMAN BIRSEN: FEAS CHAIRMANThe third General Council of the Eurasian Stock Exchanges Federation (FEAS) was held in Pakistan yesterday. According to a statement made by the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB), during the meeting hosted by FEAS-members Karachi and Lahor Stock Exchanges, it was decided that IMKB Chairman Osman Birsen, who still carries on as FEAS president, would continue in his office until 1999. During the General Council, the memberships of the Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Pakistan Stock Exchanges were also admitted. Thus the number of members reached 22. The statement also pointed out that stock exchanges in the Eurasian region should be further developed and globalized. /Hurriyet/[11] EU AID EXTENDED TO CIS COUNTRIESIt is reported that while it is difficult for Turkey to receive financial aid from the European Union (EU), financial aid extended to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries within the framework of the TACS project has reached ECU 3 billion. Ambassador Michael Lake, European Commission Representative in Turkey, delivered a speech during a meeting on "Problems and Opportunities in Eurasia" organized by the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) and said: "Turkey should re-evaluate her economic and cultural relations with these countries which go back for many years". Lake noted that nations in the former Soviet Central Asia were important to the EU because of their vast oil reserves and mineral riches. /Hurriyet/[12] ISLAMIC CONFERENCE ECONOMIC MINISTERS IN ISTANBULSenior economy officials from 43 Islamic Conference (OIC) countries, including 15 ministers, met in Istanbul yesterday. President Suleyman Demirel opened the conference, calling on the Islamic nations to expand economic ties and trade among themselves. He also warned that ethnic nationalism, terrorism, organized crime and problems related to underdevelopment were threatening stability among Islamic nations. Demirel urged continued support for the Middle East Peace Process and the Dayton Peace Accords. He also urged Armenia to withdraw from occupied Azeri territories to open up new opportunities for regional cooperation.Demirel also chastised Greece for mistreating its Turkish minority and proposed an ending of the economic embargo against the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). "The only thing that Turkish Cypriots want is to be politically equal possessors of the island of Cyprus so as to be able to live in peace and security on their own land" Demirel said. /Hurriyet/ [13] TURKEY STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF MARITIME SECTORState Minister responsible for Maritime Affairs, Burhan Kara, told the Mediterranean Countries Eighth International Maritime Congress yesterday that Turkey gave special importance to that sector. Kara stressed that Turkey was bounded on three sides by the sea and that 80-85 percent of its foreign trade was carried out by sea.The minister also took advantage of the opportunity to say that making new organizational arrangements for traffic through Bosphorus was in the best interests of all countries. Participants from 24 countries are attending the Congress which will continue until November 9. /Hurriyet/ [14] THREE DEPUTIES RESIGN FROM DSPThree deputies of Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP) resigned from the party yesterday after appearing before the party's disciplinary board for having met with Republican people's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. The loss of the three deputies, Veli Akosy, Hilmi Develi and Yuksel Aksu, brings the number of DSP deputies down to 64. The three deputies will reportedly join the CHP along with two deputies expelled from the DSP, Bulent Tarla and Bekir Yurdagul. /Hurriyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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