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Turkish Press Review, 97-09-16Turkish 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 MINISTER16.09.97Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] IRANIAN FM: "IT IS TIME FOR US TO EXCHANGE AMBASSADORS WITH TURKEY"Iranian Foreign Minister Kemal Kharrazi said on Monday that the time had come for Turkey and Iran to exchange ambassadors again, the Anatolia news agency reported. Kharrazi, speaking at his first press conference following his appointment, reminded the reporters that President Suleyman Demirel had sent Foreign Ministry deputy undersecretary Ali Tuygan as a special envoy to Iranian President Muhammed Khatami.Following the press conference, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said that they intended to maintain good relations with all neighbours countries but that they were still waiting for the development of the necessary conditions for that. [02] TURKISH-ISRAELI-US JOINT MANEUVERS TO START ON NOVEMBER 16 IN HAIFAThe controversial Turkish-Israeli-American joint maneuvers, which have been drawing objections from Arab countries for months, are to start on November 16 at Israel's port of Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea, said senior military sources. "Turkish, American and Israeli warships will set sail for the joint naval maneuvers on November 16 from the exercises' operation center at the port of Haifa in Israel. The joint meneuvers will be held off the Israeli coast, in eastern Mediterranean international waters, and will end on September 23," said the same source.Warships belonging to the three countries are expected to gather in Haifa on November 14-15. The joint maneuvers aim to improve cooperation between the Turkish, Israeli and U.S. navies, in areas such as search and rescue operations, and are for humanitarian rather than military purposes. /Sabah/ [03] TURKEY PUSHES FOR ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS WITH GREECETurkey has put its hopes of reaching economic agreements with Greece onto the agenda again following the atmosphere of goodwill created in Madrid during the NATO summit in July, but until now has not received a response from the Greek side, said a senior official from the Foreign Ministry. Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem reached 'a convergence of views on a basis for promoting better relations' in Madrid. The senior official said that even during that meeting Turkey had hinted at its desire to reach economic agreements with Greece on issues including the prevention of double taxation, the encouragment of investment and cooperation in the fields of industry and technology. /All papers/[04] CEM TO GO TO NY FOR UN GENERAL ASSEMBLYForeign Minister Ismail Cem will go to new York on September 22, in order to participate in the U.N. General Assembly meeting, the Anatolia news agency reported.Cem is expected to meet with Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives from countries in the European Union. He will give a speech to the General Assembly and hold a press conference for the foreign media on September 26. [05] STATE MINISTER ANDICAN, 'WASHINGTON SHOULD PUT PRESSURE ON ARMENIA'State Minister Ahat Andican said that the U.S. administration should put pressure on Armenia to solve the Nagorno-Karbakh dispute. Briefing the press members about his recent contacts in Azerbaijan and Kazakhistan, Andican pointed out that the Turkish delegation had achieved concrete and positive results during these talks. Stating that peace was the precondition for economic and political stability in the Caucasus, Andican said that Azerbaijan was one of the important aspects of Turkey's policy towards Armenia. The United States should put pressure on Armenia, said Andican, adding that the United States should review the articles in its policy which defines Azerbaijan as an 'attacker state'. Andican also gave information about his contacts with Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev saying that Baku had expressed concerns over the reports on "normalization" of ties between Ankara-Yerevan. /All papers/[06] TURKISH PRESIDENT SENDS MESSAGE TO SADDAMForeign Ministry undersecretary Onur Oymen has delivered a message to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, the official Iraqi News Agency INA said on Monday. It said the letter was delivered by Onur Oymen to Iraq's vice-chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Izzat Ibrahim. The verbal-message enchanced bilateral ties and Turkey's firm stand to preserve Iraq's independence and territorial integrity. Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen began talks on economic and security issues with Iraqi Foreign Minister Said al Sahhaf in Baghdad on Monday.Oymen is scheduled to meet with Iraq's Oil Minister Amr Saad Abdulmecit Al-Faisal, Minister of Finance Hikmet Ibrahim Al-Azzavi and First Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz. He is expected to return to Turkey on Tuesday. /Cumhuriyet/ [07] US TO GIVE TURKEY $ 22 MILLION IN DEBT SUPPORTThe U.S. Charge d'Affaires Francis Ricciardone will on Tuesday sign an agreement to transfer $ 22 million in Economic Support Funds (EFS) to Turkey. According to a statement released by the U.S. Information Service (USIS) on Monday, Treasury Director General for Foreign Economic Relations Aydın Karaoz will sign the agreement on behalf of the government. The USIS statement said the United States provides these funds 'in recognition of Turkey's role as an important ally and in support of Turkey's economic liberalization efforts. /All papers/[08] TURKSAT 2A SET FOR 1999 LAUNCHTurkey's third satellite, Turksat 2A, will be launched in 1999 and will, in conjuction with the two previously launched Turk Telekom satellites extend broadcasting range from Western Europe to the Great Wall of China. Cengiz bulut, Director-General at Turk Telekom, said: "Aside from Turkish demand, we have been receiving demands from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. We have been obliged forced to launch a third satellite in response to increasing demands." He added that the first two satellites both had limited range but that Turksat 2A would be able to cover a much wider area. /Milliyet/[09] CEMAL KULAHLI RESIGNS FROM RPParliamentary deputy for Bursa Cemal Kulahli resigned yesterday from the Welfare Party (RP). As a result of this resignation, RP seats in Parliament have dropped to 150. /Hurriyet/[10] EUROPEAN COUNCIL GIVES TURKEY NEW HOPEEU foreign ministers met yesterday in the Belgian capital of Brussels to discuss the process of EU expansion. The message that Turkey remains a part of the EU expansion process emerged from the meeting. The majority of the 15 EU member states announced that they were positive about Turkey's candidacy for membership. During the meeting the ministers said that they will not object to Turkey's participation in the European Conference to be held by the end of this year./Hurriyet/[11] SILK ROAD CONFERENCE COMMENCES IN ISTANBULThe Silk Road 2000 conference organized by the Confederation of International Foreign Trade Associations commenced yesterday with an opening speech delivered by President Demirel. Demirel voiced optimism about the bright future of Turkey and said that this conference will become a milestone in efforts to set up a modern Silk Road stretching from the West to the East. 80 delegates from 26 European, American, Black Sea and Central Asian countries attended the conference.The businessmen are taking part on Monday to Thursday "Silk Road 2000" conference, organized by the Foreign Trade Association of Turkey (TURKTRADE) and the Confederation of International Trading Houses Association. /All papers/ [12] EXPORTS EXCEED $24 BILLIONAccording to State Statistics Institute figures, exports from the period from June 1996 to June 1997 totalled $24 billion. For the first time, exports have exceeded the $24 billion mark. Imports for the same period amounted to nearly $44 billion, with a trade deficit of almost $20 billion. /Hurriyet/[13] PROMOTION DRIVE BY THE TOURISM MINISTRYTourism Minister Ibrahim Gurdal said that they were planning to implement an ambitious promotion programme that will help Turkey emerge as a world tourism centre in the next century. "We will use art to promote our country abroad," Gurdal noted adding that they were planning to organize a souvenir design contest to support the drive to utilize art in initiatives to make Turkey more popular. /Cumhuriyet/[14] EXPLOSION KILLS THREEFugitives fleeing from Northern Iraq who stumbled into a mine field near the Meric river along the Turco-Greek border, three lost their lives and 11 were wounded when a mine exploded. Following the incident which happened early yesterday morning, Greek bomb experts entered the mine field and took out the wounded fugitives. Forty-eight refugees, who wanted to illegally cross over from Turkey to Greece, were taken into custody near the mine field. A total of 57 Northern Iraqis, who wanted to enter Greece, were arrested. /Sabah/[15] US WARNS SYRIAUS Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who has been visiting the Middle East region for a week, took up some issues closely relating to Turkey. At the top of these issues, missiles deployed for terrorist purposes along the Turkish and Israeli borders with the support of Syria. Albright and her team harshly criticized the Damascus government. US officials said that if the Syrians made an attack against Turkey, they would have an immediate response from the alliance. /Sabah/[16] RUSSIA: WE WILL DELIVER S-300 MISSILESRussia has said that S-300 missiles will be delivered to Greek Cypriots in line with an agreement previously signed between the two sides. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Valeri Nesteruskin said in a statament that they would definitely deliver the missiles. He noted that the only way not to have the missiles delivered was to clean Cyprus of all arms and soldiers. Nesteruskin recalled that the agreement was signed in January, 1997, and that delivery would be made 18 months after the signing of the agreement. /Sabah/[17] 20 EUROPEAN MINISTERS AT HEALTH SUMMITPresident Suleyman Demirel attended an opening ceremony of the 47th European Regional Committee Meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul yesterday. 500 delegates including 20 health ministers from 51 European countries are participating in the meeting which will continue until 19 September. Demirel, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and WHO General Director Hiroshi Nakajima delivered speeches at the meeting. Nakajima thanked the Turkish government for its contributions to the meeting. /Sabah/[18] GAP INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTBids for the GAP International airport to be built in Sanliurfa will be put out in the coming days. After the airport, allocations for which total TL 3 trillion for this year, is put into operation, products in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region will be sent to many countries around the world using new cargo facilities. With a grant worth $720,000 provided from the US Commerce Department's Trade and Development Agency, the GAP International Airport is moving into the final stage. /Milliyet/[19] RUSSIAN SOLDIERS IN AEGEANRussia and Greece have stated that they will hold a joint air exercise. Greek Government Spokesman Dimitris Reppas said in a statement yesterday that the exercise would be held within the framework of bilateral agreements and would not be aimed at any third country. It is reported that the exercise, which will be held in the Aegean, was decided upon last December during a visit of the Greek Air Forces Commander to Moscow. /Milliyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |