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Turkish Press Review, 98-10-22
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
22.10.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY TO CLOSELY MONITOR SYRIA'S NEXT STEP
[02] SYRIA DENIES KURDISH REBELS ACCESS TO TURKEY
[03] EU COMMISSION TO RELEASE A $ 162 TO TURKEY
[04] BROEK TO ANKARA
[05] DENKTAS PROPOSES GREEK CYPRUS NON-AGGRESSION PACT
[06] FIRE DESTROYS INDUSTRIAL AREA
[07] TURKEY, ISRAEL AND JORDAN JOINT CONFERENCE
[08] US SUPPORT FOR BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
[09] PKK OPERATION
[10] PRAISE TO TURKISH BUSINESSMEN FROM THE US
[11] EXPANSION OF NATO APPROVED
[01] TURKEY TO CLOSELY MONITOR SYRIA'S NEXT STEP
Ankara said that it would be 'closely monitoring' whether
Damascus complies with the agreement reached on Tuesday between
Turkey and Syrian officials. "It is Syria that has won the war
against terrorism. The Syrian administration decided to choose
the way of reason and conscience," Foreign Ministry spokesman
Necati Utkan said on Wednesday during a weekly press briefing.
About the news that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was in Russia
Necati Utkan said that intelligence efforts were underway to
determine Ocalan's exact whereabouts. Meanwhile, Moscow remained
silent on Wednesday following Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
announcement on 20 October that Ocalan was in Russia.
Spokesman Utkan during the press briefing expressed Ankara's
thanks for the diplomatic efforts of Egypt and Iran, which had
tried to defuse the crisis with Syria in the past week. Utkan
also passed along Turkey's thanks to all Arab and Muslim
countries for their sincere efforts in defusing the crisis. /All
papers/
[02] SYRIA DENIES KURDISH REBELS ACCESS TO TURKEY
Syria, confirming announcements by Turkey, pledged Wednesday to
deny the PKK access to Turkish territory through its own
territory, branding the PKK a terrorist organization. According
to Syrian official news agency, SANA the Syrian delegation had
reiterated that Syrian territories have never been a base for
operations and activities aimed against Turkey's security.
/Sabah/
[03] EU COMMISSION TO RELEASE A $ 162 TO TURKEY
The European Union Commission approved a project yesterday to
overcome the Greek veto and lend money to Turkey in line with the
European Strategy for Turkey endorsed by the Union at the Cardiff
Summit. The Commission adopted a communication which declares
that 135 million ECU ($162 million) will be released to Turkey
after the vote of qualified majority. The second sum, will be 15
million ECU ($ 18 million) to enable Ankara to make full use of a
1995 customs union agreement with the EU. The aid will be
extended to be used for the economic and social improvement of
Turkey. /Sabah/
[04] BROEK TO ANKARA
Hans van den Broek, the European Union commissioner responsible
for foreign affairs, is expected to visit Turkey next week, the
Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday. Van den Broek will be
in Turkey on October 29 for celebrations to mark the 75th
anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, and at the same time is
expected to hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
and other high ranking officials.
[05] DENKTAS PROPOSES GREEK CYPRUS NON-AGGRESSION PACT
The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC),
Rauf Denktas, called on Greek Cyprus to sign a non-aggression
pact between the two sides on the long-divided island. He also
proposed a meeting between the two interior ministers to outline
measures to make it easier for tourists to cross the border
between the two sides. /Milliyet/
[06] FIRE DESTROYS INDUSTRIAL AREA
A fire broke out on Wednesday morning at the AEG industrial area,
one of the leading electronic goods production companies in
Turkey in Cerkezkoy, Tekirdag. Saffet Karahisarli, the local
administrator of Cerkezkoy, stated that no deaths or injuries had
been reported. Damage to the affected area, which covers almost
30,000 square meters, is estimated at around TL five or six
trillion. /All papers/
[07] TURKEY, ISRAEL AND JORDAN JOINT CONFERENCE
The joint conference between Turkey , Israel and Jordan is described
as a partnership between democracies of similar ideological
structures to secure peace and prosperity in a tense region. At the
tripartite conference organised by English-Israeli Public Affairs
Centre, a leading defence official from Israel, David Ivry said that
there was a pessimistic picture in the Middle East due to radicalism,
terroristic activities and mass destruction weapons. Turkish
Ambassador Barlas Ozener asked,'What can we do to persuade our Arab
friends that this is not an alliance?" It was also stated that
that Prime Minister Yżlmaz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and Crown Prince Hasan of Jordan stressed the importance of this
partnership. On the other hand the relations between the three
countries are described as a military axis to bestablish sovereignty
in the Middle East by those against it./Milliyet/
[08] US SUPPORT FOR BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
The US deputy State Secretary responsible for economic affairs Stuart
Eizenstat yesterday said that they supported Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project
as the most economic and environmental solution and added that
carrying of oil with tankers through the Bosphorous would create
great environmental problems. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
stated that they would take every opportunity in the international
law to obstruct the passage of Caspian oil from the Bosphorous.
Joint communique on the Turkish-Us Joint Economic Commission fifth term
meeting was signed in Ankara yesterday./Cumhuriyet/
[09] PKK OPERATION
Following operations by the Security Forces in Izmir and its towns
concerning the PKK, eleven people were taken unto custody. The Directorate
of Security issued a statement saying that eleven people, among whom
the regional responsible men of the region were also present,
were taken under custody. Those taken under custody had many documents
and various weapons with them./Cumhuriyet/
[10] PRAISE TO TURKISH BUSINESSMEN FROM THE US
The most prestigious magazine of the US business world, Forbes
prepared a sepcial supplement for the Turkish business world.
In the special supplement of Forbes Global Business and Finance
Magazine, the views of Turkish businessmen and commentaries praising
Turkey took place. The supplement also points out that the economic
dynamism Turkey has reached in 75 years is noteworthy and is an
incitement to others. /Hurriyet/
[11] EXPANSION OF NATO APPROVED
Turkish Grand National Assembly(TGNA) yesterday approved the
memberships of former Warsaw Pact members Poland, Czech Republic
and Hungary in NATO. According to NATO agreement new members
to the pact should be approved by the parliaments of the member
countries. The memberships of the three countries was accepted
with the votes of ANAP,DSP, and CHP. /Hurriyet/
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