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Turkish Press Review, 05-05-27Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning27.05.2005FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH KAZAKH OFFICIALSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on a two-day visit to Kazakhstan, yesterday met with his Kazakh counterpart Danial Akhmetov in Astana. After their talks, Akhmetov told a news conference that his country could contribute up to 30 million tons annually to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Oil Pipeline which will transfer crude oil from Azerbaijan’s Caspian region through Georgia to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan for shipment to world markets. Asked about the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Akhmetov said Kazakhstan wanted to develop cultural relations with the Turkish Cypriots. For his part, Erdogan stated that they had discussed the topics of economic cooperation, the fight against terrorism, the BTC project and the Cyprus issue. The Turkish premier then met with Senate Speaker Nurtay Abikayev and addressed Kazakh businessmen at a gathering. Erdogan, accompanied by his wife as well as State Ministers Besir Atalay, Mehmet Aydin, and Kursad Tuzmen, and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu, also attended a dinner in his honor hosted by Akhmetov. Today, he will proceed to Almaty to meet with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and to visit a Turkish Export Products Fair in the city. /Turkiye/[02] ANKARA TO HOST CYPRUS SUMMITAnkara is to host a Cyprus summit next week in the runup to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s visit to the United States in the first week of June. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat, Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer and Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas are expected to arrive in Ankara next Thursday. They will meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and then Erdogan and Gul to discuss the latest developments on the island. Erdogan and Gul are expected to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan while in the United States. /Cumhuriyet/[03] US STATE DEPT HAILS OPENING OF BTC PIPELINEThe US State Department warmly welcomed the official opening of the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline yesterday in Baku, Azerbaijan. “The United States has long supported this historic project as a centerpiece of the East-West energy corridor,” said department spokesman Richard Boucher. “The BTC pipeline will reinforce the sovereignty and prosperity of Azerbaijan and Georgia. BTC will further integrate Azerbaijan and Georgia into the international free market economy and promote their development, while advancing our shared goal of developing multiple oil and gas export routes. The BTC pipeline will also enhance Turkey's emerging role as an energy transportation hub and help reduce oil tanker traffic congestion in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is a major success for the U.S. goal of enhancing and diversifying global energy supplies.” On the other hand, Russia yesterday lashed out at the project opening, arguing that the BTC’s true aim is nothing but serving the US’ political interests in the region. Russian Parliament Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov charged that the US and other Western countries are planning to deploy troops in the countries where the pipeline is situated, using regional instability as a pretext, and added that Moscow does not want to see foreign forces in the region. /Milliyet/[04] GERMAN OPPOSITION LEADER PRODS TURKEY OVER CYPRUS, ARMENIA ISSUESGermany’s main opposition leader Angela Merkel yesterday urged Turkey to improve its relations with Armenia and clarify its official attitude on the Cyprus issue before starting accession talks with the European Union on Oct. 3. Although Turkey’s EU membership bid is supported by current German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his party, Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), however, favors a looser "privileged partnership” with Ankara. The CDU is the main sponsor of a draft resolution before the German Parliament calling on Turkey to take historical responsibility for the so-called mass killings of Armenians during the late Ottoman era. Merkel’s party will challenge Schroeder’s Social Democrats in early polls this September. /Aksam/[05] EDELMAN PAYS HIS FAREWELL VISITS TO SEZER AND GULUS Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman yesterday paid his farewell visits to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Gul thanked Edelman for his efforts to improve bilateral relations during his mission. Edelman said that Washington would keep the promise it made to fight the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq. “Talks on this issue will continue between Turkey, the US and Iraq,” he added. “Washington will also sustain its full support for Turkey’s EU membership bid and the Cyprus issue.” He also expressed satisfaction over State Minister Ali Babacan’s being named chief negotiator for the country’s EU membership talks. /Hurriyet/[06] ARMENIAN CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN NEAR FUTURE, SAY ORGANIZERSThe organizer and 43 scholars of a conference on Ottoman Armenians which was postponed earlier this week issued a statement yesterday. It said that the three-day gathering to be hosted by Bogazici University had been postponed due to pressure from certain circles, adding that it would be held in the near future. The group also criticized Justice Minister Cemil Cicek for his recent remarks about the gathering in Parliament. “No institution, no organization and no individual has the right to intervene in an academic meeting,” said the statement, adding that differing views and ideas would benefit Turkish society. On the other hand, Bulent Arinc, currently visiting the US, when asked about the issue said that he favors everybody expressing their views freely. /Milliyet/[07] BAYKAL TO GIVE FRIENDSHIP AWARD TO GERMANY’S RAURepublican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal will attend a friendship award ceremony this weekend in the German city of Solingen. At the awards ceremony, called “Hate Kills, Love Gives Life,” Baykal will give former German President Johannes Rau a friendship award. Rau was one of the first politicians to condemn a 1993 incident in Solingen in which five Turks were killed. /Cumhuriyet/[08] ANOTHER DEPUTY QUITS CHPOpposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kars Deputy Selami Yigit yesterday resigned from his party. With his resignation, the CHP’s seats in Parliament fell to 160, while the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) still holds 356 seats. /Star/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[10] BAKU-CEYHAN TURNING POINT BY ERHAN BASYURT (ZAMAN)Columnist Erhan Basyurt comments on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline project. A summary of his column is as follows:“The first oil was pumped through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in Azerbaijan two days ago. The huge project is a turning point not only for Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, but also for the region’s future. For the first time, one of the ex-Soviet republics has succeeded in opening to the world through an energy transportation line with Russia excluded. The new pipeline will spur steady growth in the Azerbaijani economy. Azerbaijan expects a growth of 20% over the next few years. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, one of the longest pipelines in the world at 1,774 kilometers, will contribute to the cooperation and stability of the three countries through which it passes. A natural gas pipeline has started construction in parallel with the BTC, and its completion is planned for 2006. This way the friendship will be strengthened even more. British Petroleum (BP), the largest partner in the project, claims that the benefits to the three countries will amount to $150 billion from the oil and gas transportation. The Turkish, Georgian and Azerbaijani leaders at the BTC opening ceremony also signed a pact for the Kars-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Baku Railway project, which is an indication of the emerging stability of the Caucasus. This project, which will connect Turkey and Eurasia, has been delayed for years due to the Armenian minority’s threat in the Akhalkalaki region. Kazakhstan will also connect to BTC through Aktau. This way they will have an alternative route to Russia. This way tanker traffic and the threats to the environment and lives posed by tankers in the Turkish Straits will fall. The BTC has a great strategic importance for Turkey. Our port of Ceyhan’s importance has risen as an energy transfer point. Turkey has become an energy route for Iranian and Azerbaijani gas and Iraqi and Caspian oil, and Turkey’s strategic importance rose for the EU. Now transferring natural gas to Europe through Greece isn’t a dream anymore. In addition, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) is a partner of the projects with a share of 6.5% and for the first time, Turkey is signing a partnership with international companies with oil and natural gas fields of this scale. Of course this experience will have a contribution and financial benefits for the TPAO’s future roles. In sum, pumping the first oil in the BTC pipeline is a turning point in many ways and strengthens the search for multidimensional cooperation among countries of the region.” [11] FROM DREAM TO REALITY BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Oil Pipeline which will transfer crude from Azerbaijan’s southern Caspian offshore fields through Georgia to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan for shipment to world markets. A summary of her column is as follows:“There have been so many harsh conflicts in the 11 years that have passed since the signing of the first agreement on Caspian oil. So much bargaining was done and such bad tricks were played that, as a journalist who observed this process closely, I had also lost my hope and started to ask myself: ‘Is this just a dream or a legend which can never come true?’ However the dream finally came true. Caspian oil will reach Western markets through Turkey. When Iraqi oil is also added to this at full capacity, our port of Ceyhan will become one of the most important wholesale centers in the world. Caspian oil will be arriving at Ceyhan at the end of this year. Are we ready to handle this new situation? Do we have the necessary vision? Now it’s time to discuss the answers to this question. When I look back at the last 11 years, I can see better how little Turkey is prepared for this and how inexperienced it is on the oil issue. Turkish governments made the Baku-Ceyhan issue a matter of internal policy, and this has hurt our leverage in bargaining. This enabled big companies and states to bargain by manipulating public opinion. The mid-90’s Baku-Supsa pipeline project can be cited as an example: They tried to depict the situation like this: ‘If there is no Baku-Supsa Pipeline, Caspian oil will go to Russia.’ They had convinced Tansu Ciller’s government to undertake the financing of this pipeline, but at the last minute they gave up. Vision is also important for the future of Ceyhan. It must be turned into a wholesale center. Iraqi oil will also come here. In addition, Arab and Russian oil may also be drawn to this region. As Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, ‘The dream became a reality.’ This is a real 21st century legend which shows that the BTC oil can also be shared over negotiation tables instead of battlefields.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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