Compact version |
|
Sunday, 22 December 2024 | ||
|
Turkish Press Review, 98-05-22Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>22.05.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] DEMIREL IN UKRAINEPresident Suleyman Demirel went to the Ukraine yesterday for a three-day official visit. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, State Minister Ahad Andican, Tourism Minister Ibrahim Gurdal and many bureaucrats, businessmen and journalists are accompanying Demirel.President Demirel and his accompanying delegation were welcomed by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchman in Kiev. Later Demirel and Kuchman held a joint press conference and said that they would mainly discuss cooperation in energy and oil. /Milliyet/ [02] FLOOD CATASTROPHE: 11 DEADThe flood in the Bartin, Devrek and Caycuma districts of Zonguldak, and in the Yenice district of Karabuk in the Western Black Sea Region has caused massive damage. In response to the catastrophe caused by the flood, a crisis desk has been formed under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Bulent Ecevit who said: "We are facing a flood catastrophe, the likes of which, hasn't been seen to date". As a result of the flood in Hatay, Bartin, Sakarya, Zonguldak, Bolu and Sivas, 11 people have died and four are missing. The "Barbaros" frigate and three speed-boats have evacuated 300 people from the coastal regions. Military helicopters and commandos are also supporting the resque teams. Red Crescent (Kizilay) assistance vehicles have gone to the disaster region.President Suleyman Demirel, who is currently in the Ukraine, expressed his concern over the flood. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that there was no shortage of equipment, however bad weather conditions are preventing quick access to the victims and some areas cannot be reached at all. "Our aim for the moment is to make sure that the number of deaths doesn't increase" Yilmaz said. /All papers/ [03] MILLER TO VISIT CYPRUSUS special Cyprus coordinator Thomas Miller, will go to Cyprus next Sunday. Miller will first attend a conference on the economy of the Greek Cypriot Administration, later he will go to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It is expected that Miller will meet with President Rauf Denktas. /Cumhuriyet/[04] TURKEY ATTENDS EXPO'98 TRADE FAIR IN LISBONState Minister Refaiddin Sahin and Burhan Kara went yesterday to Lisbon, Portugal, in order to attend the world's biggest trade fair-Expo'98. Before leaving, Kara said that Turkey would exhibit its developments in the shipping and yachting industries. State Ministers Kara and Sahin will also meet with their Portuguese counterparts and senior officials to develop bilateral relations. /Hurriyet/[05] BAKU-CEYHAN CONFERENCE IN US ANKARA EMBASSYUS Secretary for Energy, Jan Kalicki and Director of the US Trade and Development Agency, Joseph Grandmaison held a teleconference yesterday at the US Embassy in Ankara and answered questions from journalists on the Baku-Ceyhan project. Kalicki said that the Turkish government should take measures to make the projected Baku-Ceyhan pipeline more attractive to investors. An Energy Conference will be organized next week in Istanbul. /Hurriyet/[06] MENZIR TO VISIT DENMARKMinister of Communications and Transportation Necdet Menzir will go to Copenhagen, Denmark, for a European Conference for Ministers of Transportation (ECMT) to be held on 26-27 May. During the conference, cooperation between European countries and new policies regarding transportation will be discussed. /Milliyet/[07] INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN GAPState Minister Salih Yildirim, who is currently holding contacts in the US for the promotion of the Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP), said that all US institutions with which he has held talks were interested in the GAP project. Yildirim noted that the basic difficulty confronting the project was financial and added that his visit was aimed at stimulating the participation of American institutions in the project. /Milliyet/[08] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES REACH $25.8 BILLIONCentral Bank foreign exchange reserves have reached $25.8 billion. According to the Central Bank, foreign exchange reserves, which amounted to $25.131 billion on May 8, increased by $640 million, and reached $25.771 billion on May 15. Meanwhile, Turkey's international reserves rose to $33.971 billion according to data dated May 1. /Milliyet/[09] KARADAYI IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT VISIT TO RUSSIAChief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi said he had been positively impressed by his visit to Russia this week. Karadayi made this comment while speaking to Turkish journalists in Moscow before his departure to St.Petersburg where he stressed that his visit would be the beginning of a new era in Turco-Russian relations. Karadayi said that Turkey and Russia should cooperate together rather than compete against each other. Karadayi will return to Turkey today. /All papers/TURKEY'S EU BID TAKES CRITICAL turn Turkey-European Union (EU) relations took a drastic turn for the worse as Turkey announced yesterday that it was angrily boycotting a key meeting with the EU, planned for Monday due to the EU's political impositions and its inability to keep its promise of economic cooperation with Turkey. "We do not have confidence in the EU" a senior official said, complaining that the EU had tried to impose political conditions on Turkey over the Cyprus conflict, over rows with Greece and on human rights, for the convening of the meeting that was to take place in Brussels. Turkey ruled out political discussions with the 15-member bloc and said that the negotiations should continue only in economic areas with the Union. /All papers/ [10] OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONSDuring operations carried out for some time, teams from the Istanbul Security Administration's department for the Struggle Against Terrorism have apprehended eight militants of an illegal organization, the Revolutionary Communists' Union of Turkey (TÝKB), including a leading terrorist, Tamer Tuncer. Many guns and ammunition were also seized in the operations.Further, in rural areas around Tunceli three PKK terrorists were killed and two were wounded in a struggle the previous night between the the Turkish Security Forces and PKK terrorists who had kidnapped three villagers three days ago. In another confrontationtwo PKK terrorist were killed while one soldier died previous night. /Hurriyet/ Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |