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Turkish Press Review, 99-09-13Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>13.09.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] TURKEY'S RELATIONS WITH THE US AND EU -BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)[03] DEMIREL VISITS QUAKE ZONEPresident Suleyman Demirel said Ankara's priority was to compensate for the losses caused by last month's earthquake disaster during a visit to quake-hit cities yesterday. Demirel began his tour of the quake zone in Kocaeli visiting Yalova, where the city's governor, Nihat Ozgol, briefed him on the cost of the quake. Demirel said a new process had been started in the area to rebuild the quake-hit cities, adding that preparations for the winter were also underway.Housing and Public Works Minister Koray Aydin also briefed the President on the recent reconstruction. State Minister Hasan Gemici told Demirel about social services being provided for the quake victims. Informing top officials on the situation in his city, which was worst affected in the quake, Kocaeli Governor Memduh Oguz said the operation to clean up the rubble from the quake would be completed in 45 days. /All papers/ [04] CEM MEETS PAPANDREUForeign Minister Ismail Cem and his Greek counterpart George Papandreu held a meeting in Brussels yesterday. Cem has arrived in Brussels to meet the Foreign Ministers of the 15 EU member countries during an EU Council meeting to be held today. Cem will attend the EU Council meeting and will also have lunch with the EU Foreign Ministers. Cem will meet the new Head of the EU Commission, Romano Prodi, this morning and will return to Turkey tonight, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Following the meeting, both Cem and Papandreu remarked that the positive atmosphere between Turkey and Greece should continue.[05] DIPLOMATIC TRAFFIC BETWEEN U.S. AND TURKEYThe Turkish Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, will be briefed by experts on all issues concerning his meeting with the President of America, Bill Clinton, that will be held in the White House on 28th September. Furthermore, the diplomatic traffic that began between Ankara and Washington will continue.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the General Staff, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and their Undersecretaries and exporting experts will present the Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, with detailed information about the relations, problems and projects between the two countries. During the meeting, a strategy will be determined and conditions will be evaluated. It was reported that one of the deputy advisors of the U.S. State Department, the former Ambassador to Ankara, Mark Grosmann and Anthony Blinken, who is responsible for the White House's Security, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus issue would come to Ankara on Wednesday. After this, on Monday, the special representative responsible for Caspian petroleum, John Wolf, will come to Ankara. Wolf will hold meetings at the Ministry of Energy concerning the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and Turkoman natural gas pipeline, which are one of the important issues that will be discussed at the Bulent Ecevit-Bill Clinton meeting. The U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, who came to the eearthquake-hit regions in Turkey and met Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, a week ago, will again meet her Turkish counterpart in New York on 23rd September and examine the final preparations for the Clinton-Ecevit meeting. /Cumhuriyet/ [06] CRITICAL SEPTEMBER FOR TURKEYThe agenda of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem is full for September. Cem will go to New York to attend the UN General Council meeting on September 20 and will hold meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreu. Cem who will stay in New York for one week will hold a round of talks with the Foreign Ministers of nearly 20 countries. Cem will deliver a speech at the General Council on September 23 and is expected to point out the main aims of Turkish foreign policy. The Greek-Cypriot Leader, Glafkos Klerides, will also give a speech the same day.Papandreu will deliver a speech to the General Council on September 22. Cem, who will proceed to Washington on September 26, will accompany Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on his visit to the U.S. starting on September 27. Ecevit and Cem will go to New York again on September 29 and return to Turkey on September 30. /Sabah/ [07] SECOND SPRING WITH ATHENSThe rapproachment process that began between Turkey and Greece after the earthquakes that occurred in Turkey and Greece was also reflected in a meeting between the two countries. The two friendly countries will sign a cooperation agreement concerning tourism and the environment. In the first stage of these meetings that will be held in Athens, tourism and trade were discussed. In the second stage, difficult issues such as the fight against terrorism, narcotics smuggling and illegal immigration, and regional cooperation will be discussed in Ankara on 15th September. In the meetings in Athens, the two countries reached an advanced stage in that they were about to sign a "cooperation" agreement. In addition, the subject of "coping with natural disasters" was included on the agenda.Turkey's Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary, Faruk Logoglu, will represent Turkey whereas Greece will be represented by the boards chaired by Greece's Political Director, Anastasyos Scopelitis. After the meetings in Ankara come to an end, the two countries will issue statements about the results. Diplomatic sources reported that the process of dialogue between Turkey and Greece was likely to continue. /Aksam/ [08] LETTER OF CREDENTIALS TO HATEMIThe new Turkish Ambassador to Tehran, Turan Morali, gave his letter of credentials to Iranian President Muhammed Hatemi yesterday morning. Hatemi received Ambassador Morali saying: "Some people do not want Turkey and Iran to be friendly and are looking for ways to provoke a crisis. The interests of Iran and Turkey are connected and these two brotherly countries can solve their problems through good-will". /Sabah/[09] SWEDISH DELEGATION IN ANKARAA Swedish delegation, including representatives of Swedish companies, will stage a seminar in Ankara between September 14 and 15, 1999, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Meanwhile, the Swedish delegation will visit the Birecik, Karkamis and Ataturk dams and Sanliurfa tunnel in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region between September 16 and 17, 1999.[10] DRUGS RAIDDuring a raid carried out in the Cermik district of Diyarbakir yesterday, 3.5 kilos of hashish were seized. Three people were detained in connection with the incident, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[11] IZMIR INTERNATIONAL FAIR ENDSThe 68th Izmir International Fair (IIF) ended yesterday. Nearly 3 million people visited the IIF which was attended by 1,080 firms, including 408 foreign firms from 42 countries. Dogan Baran, the General Coordinator of the Izmir Fair Services Cultural and Art Affairs Joint Stock Company (IZFAS), issued a written statement and said that the IIF, which is of great importance both for Izmir and the Turkish economy, had run successfully. Baran remarked that during the IIF, new technological developments were presented and mutual commercial relations were focused on. He added that the IIF had included many issues such as the economy, commerce, culture and art and would continue to be a Fair incorporating very different aspects, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[12] TERRORIST ATTACK IN AMANOSDuring an attack carried out by members of the PKK terrorist organization in the Amanos Mountains in the Iskenderun district of Hatay yesterday, one sergeant died while one sergeant and one village guard were wounded. Officials said that a crack-down in the region was on-going, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[13] IRAQI OIL TO BE USED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MODERN VILLAGEThe 'El Kadisiye' newspaper published in Iraq said that an Iraqi proposal which envisages that one portion of $10 million in Iraqi aid (500,000 barrels of oil) granted to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey could be used for the construction of a 'modern village' in Izmit has been approved by the Turkish Government. The newspaper stated that the Iraqi Government was determined to offer more aid than that of the U.S. Government, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[14] 4$15 BILLION PACKAGE FROM ATOThe Head of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), Sinan Aygun, said that they had presented a proposal for a $15 billion package to the Government to overcome the damage caused by the earthquake. Aygun stated that the ATO package includes $12.4 billion in domestic resources while it envisages receiving $1 billion from the World Bank, $750 million from the European Settlement Fund, $650 million from the IMF and $300 million from the Islamic Development Bank. /Hurriyet/[15] RENT SUBSIDYIt is reported that the 100 million TL rent subsidy offered by the Council of Ministers to help the victims of the earthquake will also cover those who move to other cities. According to information received from the Ministry of Public Works, 600 million TL will be given to the owners of those houses which were seriously affected by the earthquake disaster in the Marmara Region and 1.2 billion will be given annually to the victims as rent assistance. These amounts will not be repaid by the victims. /Hurriyet/[16] GERMAN TOURISTS FLOCK TO TURKEYA total of 3,973,790 tourists visited Turkey during the January-July period this year, including 708,086 tourists from Germany. Thus, German tourists were the most numerous among the visitors to Turkey during the first seven months of this year, while Britain ranked second and Romania came third. /Hurriyet/[17] TURKEY IS LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVESTurkey, which has been waiting at the door of the EU for many years, is looking for new alternatives for economic cooperation and integration. Turkey will revive projects to establish an Economic Cooperation Organization with Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Izmir Agreement, which was signed between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan in 1977 and initialled in 1996 with the participation of seven new countries, was approved by the Council of Ministers. Another agreement concerning the legal status of the national representatives and international staff of the Economic Cooperation Organization was also approved. The agreements, also ratified by President Suleyman Demirel, were published in the Official Gazette yesterday. /Hurriyet/[18] U.S. : TRI-PARTITE SOVEREIGNTY IN CYPRUSThe U.S. Administration which has launched new initiatives following the appointment of Alfred Moses as the Special Representative of the U.S. President, Bill Clinton, to Cyprus has prepared a new plan which envisages 'tri-partite sovereignty in Cyprus'. The U.S. plan foresees that in addition to two equal and sovereign Turkish and Greek-Cypriot states on the Island, there will be a third sovereign body which will represent Cyprus abroad and will work as an umbrella. Thomas Weston, the Cyprus Coordinator of the U.S. State Department, along with Moses, met Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), in New York yesterday. Moses issued a statement following the meeting and said that they were making every effort to bring the representatives of the two sides on the Island to the 'negotiation table without any conditions'. Moses added that the American plan aims to bring about a successful result. /Hurriyet/[19] MINISTRY OF CULTURE OFFERS 98 BILLION TL TO TURKISH CINEMAThe Ministry of Culture has offered 98 billion TL to 17 film projects in order to promote Turkish cinema in the international arena and support the movie sector. The Minister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, issued a statement and expressed his pleasure at supporting Turkish film-making. /Hurriyet/[20] U.S. EXPERTS TO EXAMINE ROADSU.S. delegations from the Federal Highways Administration will arrive in Turkey this week, upon the request of the General Directorate of Highways, to examine the condition of the roads affected by the earthquake disaster in the Marmara Region. The U.S. delegations will also examine the bridges and viaducts along routes in the disaster region as well as the Bolu Tunnel, in addition to the roads themselves. Meanwhile, the reconstruction of the Akyazi section of the main Adapazari-Izmit road has been completed. /Hurriyet/[21] TURKISH DOCTOR'S BREAK-THROUGHA Turkish doctor, Ergin Atalar, has developed a reduced-size MR machine which has been approved by the FDA, the institution that controls food and medicines in the U.S. The mini MR achieves a view of the organs inside the body. The view received from the mini MR is nine-fold clearer than that taken using normal-sized equipment. /Hurriyet/[22] OPERATION U.S.A. IN TURKEYOperation U.S.A., a leading non-governmental organization which has lent a helping hand to 82 countries to date, will now help Turkey following the earthquake disaster in the Marmara region. Officials from Operation U.S.A. based in California have decided to send 60 tons of sanitation equipment to Turkey. The Head of Operation U.S.A., Richard Walden, came to Turkey yesterday prior to the arrival of the sanitation equipment. Walden said that a 6 ton-portion of equipment would arrive in Istanbul today and added that they were ready to exert every effort to help in addition to providing the sanitation equipment. /Hurriyet/[23] EDUCATION MINISTER THANKS GREECENational Education Minister Metin Bostancioglu thanked Greece for its assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake disaster in Turkey and said: "We aim to strengthen our friendship with Greece through education. We believe that reciprocal visits by the Education Ministers of the two countries and the elimination of biased sections printed in the books read by students at school will be extremely beneficial for the further development of relations between Turkey and Greece". /Hurriyet/[24] CYPRUS SCENARIOS IN GREEK-CYPRIOT PRESSIt has been claimed that the U.S. Administration will launch initiatives to bring together Turkish-Cypriot President Rauf Denktas, Greek-Cypriot Leader Glafkos Klerides, and the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Greece in an unofficial meeting also attended by the U.S. President, Bill Clinton, during the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Summit to be held in Istanbul in November. According to the 'Mahi' newspaper published in Southern Cyprus, Denktas and Klerides will also meet EU representatives and the representatives of the three guarantor states. The 'Politis' newspaper has claimed that the Israeli-Palestinian agreement will constitute a model for the solution of the Cyprus problem and all efforts are being made for this purpose. /Star/[25] CHP-PASOK COOPERATIONThe Greek Socialist Party PASOK and the Turkish Republican People's Party (CHP) will attain institutional cooperation. Yanos Kranidiotis represented the PASOK delegation during the European Socialist Parties' Summit in Brussels while CHP Deputy Chairman, Inal Batu, and the Deputy General Secretary, Sule Bucak, represented the CHP.Meanwhile, the political groups in the European Parliament have prepared a joint draft law concerning the earthquake in the Marmara region to be presented to the General Council this week. The draft law wants the EU to enter the picture and help the reconstruction of the earthquake disaster region. The draft law which will be voted on on Thursday envisages every kind of assistance to those whose houses collapsed during the earthquake. On the other hand, all groups have reached a consensus that 150 million Euros, planned to be transferred to Turkey as part of the Mediterranean Fund (MEDA), will be offered to Turkey for the earthquake victims. /Turkiye/ [26] EARTHQUAKE DETERMINES THE AGENDAThe Head of the Executive Board of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), Husamettin Kavi, stated that the earthquake in Turkey had become the main topic in Europe and said that despite the damage to the real economy, Turkey has shown that it is a global country. He added that stability should be established in the region in order to attract new foreign investments into Turkey. /Turkiye/[27] MINISTER OF HEALTH IN ROMEThe Minister of Health, Osman Durmus, went to Rome in order to attend the World Health Organization's "European Region Meeting". Durmus made a statement at Ataturk Airport before setting out and said, "The issues of health in the 21st century will be discussed during the meeting. Furthermore, the "European Region Director" of the World Health Organization will be elected in Rome. The delegates from Germany, France, Switzerland, Greece and Croatia are the candidates for this position. We are going to vote on this issue." /Aksam/[28] TURKISH GENERAL FOR PEACEBrigadier General Hilmi Akin Zorlu will be the Commander of the Balkans Peace Force established by Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Albania and Italy to protect peace in the Balkans for the next two years. The Southeastern European Brigade (SEERBIG), under the umbrella of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was launched at a ceremony held in Filibe yesterday. National Defence Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, the Deputy Chief of General Staff, Gen.Edip Baser, and the Head of the Planning Department, Major General Ethem Erdagi, represented Turkey during the ceremony.The wind of frienship between Turkey and Greece has also affected the politicians. Defence Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu invited his Greek counterpart to Turkey. The two Ministers came together during the ceremony. Cakmakoglu and his Greek counterpart, Athanasios Cahacopulus, pointed out that the rapprochement between the two countries should continue. /Milliyet-Turkiye/ [29] 162 IMMIGRANTS CAPTURED IN VANA total of 162 immigrants, including Iranians and Iraqis who illegally entered Turkey, were captured in Van yesterday. The Gendarmerie said that the ilegal immigrants were interrogated and later sent to court. /Turkiye/[30] TREASURY ISSUES BONDSThe Treasury will issue six-month term bonds today and three-year term exchange of bills on Tuesday. The repayment of the bonds will be on March 15, 2000, and August 14, 2002, respectively. The Treasury aims at 400-650 trillion TL from the sale of the bonds and 700-900 trillion TL from the bills. /Sabah/[31] IMKB RANKS SEVENTHThe Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) has ranked seventh among the developing markets from the standpoint of the volume of transactions because of the slump which has been experienced since July 1998 following the crisis in Russia. The IMKB came second during the January-June period this year among the European markets with its $33.6 billion worth of transactions. /Sabah/[32] SCHOOLS OPEN TODAYThe new school semester kicks off today throughout Turkey, except in the districts that were heavily damaged by the earthquake, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Some 15 million students will return to class, and 1.5 million are to register for primary school in the 1999-2000 school year. A different date was set for the opening of schools in quake-devastated areas.President Suleyman Demirel said in a statement released by the Presidential Press Office that 'the most important step towards attaining a better future is the education of our children in the most appropriate manner". Demirel added that the world was entering the 21st century and the age of information and that the countries which could educate their children best would be those who would have a say in the new world. [33] TUSIAD TO ORGANIZE SEMINARThe Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) today will organize a seminar on problems faced by the Turkish financial sector and their solutions, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The seminar's inauguration speech, for which seminar TUSIAD's commission of economic affairs will be responsible, will be delivered by Korkmaz Haktanir, the commission's chairman and a member of TUSIAD's administration council.[34] BIG STEP IN THE TANK PROJECTFive foreign firms from among more than ten foreign firms remain for the final of the tender put out for the joint production of 1000 main battle tanks, which is considered to be the most comprehensive defence project in the course of Turkish history, reported the Anatolian News Agency.In a statement by American defence sources, the names of the countries and firms which are on the shortlist and the models of the tanks under consideration are as follows: U.S.A:General Dynamics Firm - the MIA2 Abrams France: Giat Firm - the Lerclerc Germany: Krauss-Maffei Firm - the Leopard 2 Ukrain: Ukrspetseksport Firm - the T-80D Italy: Iveco and Oto Breda Firm - the CI Ariete The project was launched by the Defence Industry's Undersecretary, who sent a letter proposing the tender to these five firms. It was reported that the candidates of countries such as Israel and England were left off the list. The IMI Firm from Israel is preparing itself for the bid to modernize the M60, which is an offshoot of the main tank production project. The five foreign firms which hope to win the bid and jointly manufacture the tank with five Turkish firms that are candidates for being the prime contractors; these are as follows: FNSS, OTOKAR, ASMAS, BMC and ROKETSAN. Turkey's great tank project is expected to cost 7 billion dollars (3.3 quadrillion TL) and take 15 years to complete. [35] CULTURAL CENTRES FOR TURKEY AND EGYPTThe protocol concerning the construction of cultural centres to be carried out between Turkey and Egypt and all things concerning these centres was approved and promulgated in the Official Gazette, reported the Anatolian News Agency.The protocol, which was signed on 27th October 1998 in Cairo, envisages the construction of the Turkish Republic's Cultural Centre in Cairo and the Arabian Republic of Egypt's Cultural Centre in Istanbul. The protocol aims to contribute to the solidarity between the two countries in various fields and to a raproachment between the people of these two countries. [36] TUBITAK IS OBSERVING THE EARTHQUAKE VIA SATELLITEThe Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK)'s Marmara Research Centre (MRC) Data Processing Technology Research Institution's Director, Hakan Kalyoncu, stated that the institute was observing the destruction caused by the earthquake and its damage to the environment via satellite. Kalyoncu said, "During the TUPRAS oil-refinery fire, the extent and ferocity of the fire was being watched continously. Furthermore, the change to the shoreline after the earthquake was observed and reported on. The earthquake not only caused a great death toll, but also destroyed some of the institutions' computer equipment. After the earthquake, the importance of science and technology was better realized by the people. In addition, after the earthquake the importance of data processing technology, satellite and Internet connections were better understood." /Aksam/[37] HOPE OF PETROLEUM IN NAZILLITurkey's Petroleum Board (TPAO) Seismic-2 team launched a search for petroleum in the district of Nazilli. It was reported that after Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ercan from the Faculty of Mining at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) had said that a petroleum reservoir had been found in Nazilli, which amounted to 100 million barrels, the TPAO had started its own investigation in the region. The TPAO's geophysics experts, Aziz Elibuyuk and Ercan Kocak from the Seismic-2 region, said that they had set up their headquarters in the village of Alamut in Nazilli and begun their efforts in the region. /Aksam/[38] TURKISH WIRELESS SYSTEM FOR EUROPEAN HELICOPTEROne of the most important establishments of the Turkish defence industry, the Military Electric and Electronics Industry (ASELSAN), has managed to gain a place on the inventory list of the French-German Helicopter Consortium's Eurocopter. The consortium will use ASELSAN's FLIR wireless system in helicopters which are produced by them. The Defence Undersecretary, Yalcin Burcak, said that they had agreed with Eurocopter to buy 30 helicopters and ASELSAN's FLIR wireless system will be integreted into these helicopters. /Milliyet/[39] AWARD FOR AKUTTurkish Rescue Team 'AKUT' and Greek Rescue Team 'EKAM' will be presented with the 'Abdi Ipekci Turco-Greek Friendship Award'. The Abdi Ipekci Award's Greek jury, decided to give the award to both teams due to their exemplary work. EKAM had participated in the rescue efforts in the Marmara, while AKUT had done so in Athens. The awards will be presented to the teams in Athens, in November. /Milliyet/[40] FATIH AMONG MILLENIUM STARSOne of the famous Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the Conqueror of Istanbul Fatih Sultan Mehmet the second, received a place on 'The Sunday Times'' list of 'the 30 most important people of the Millenium'. It is stated that Fatih conquered Istanbul in 1453, and had made it into one of the most important capitals of the world. The jury, consisting of 15 experts in the fields of science, art, history and politics, chose the British physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) as the most important person between the years 1000 and 1999. /Milliyet/[41] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[42] THE ONLY CURE: MORE DEMOCRACY -BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)Columnist Tufan Turenc comments on the statements made by the Chairman of the High Court of Appeals and expresses his own opinions on the issue. A summary of his column is as follows:"Those governing Turkey have to take steps similar to those taken by Ismet Inonu in 1946 in moving to a multi-party democracy. The obstacles in front of freedom and the State of Law should be immediately abolished. In this day and age, it is not possible to govern Turkish society using pressure or imposing constraints. Therefore, instead of debating on what we oppose in the statements of the Chairman of the High Court of Appeals, Sami Selcuk, we should concentrate on what we agree with in these statements. There is no point wasting time discussing where he went wrong. We should not be afraid of more democracy. The State should concentrate on eliminating the reasons for the problems instead of dealing with them one by one. Only then will fundamentalism no longer pose a danger. If you turn a blind eye to their illegally-organized activities, then you will meet a monster threatening democracy. If you open a great number of religious schools and do not control them, you cannot expect them to train generations loyal to democracy. You cannot prevent the wearing of headscarves and sariks in the streets if you do not control them. If you implement the law without compromise in an atmosphere of full-democracy, society will develop incredibly quickly and overcome fanaticism. There is only one cure for the problems we are facing today and that is more democracy." [43] TURKEY'S RELATIONS WITH THE US AND EU -BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on Turco-US and Turco-EU relations. A summary of his column is as follows:"We shall be keeping an eye on what is going on abroad till the end of the year. The EU has described the route to membership to be followed by Turkey as different than that of other candidates. The EU wants Turkey to fulfill certain conditions so as to become a candidate for the EU. It is not going to implement the plans it has for the other 11 candidate countries. The Turkish side is claiming that when these conditions are fulfilled Turkey would already have reached the EU standards. However, the general gist of the EU message is that Turkey should become suitable for candidacy and only then they would consider its membership. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will attend the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council on September 13. This meeting which was not held for two years between Turkey and the EU, will beof significance due to the Helsinki Summit to be held in December. Cem will state that Helsinki is the last chance in view of our relations with the EU. If this chance is not used properly, the EU will be dropped from Turkey's agenda. On September 15-16, the second leg of the meetings between Turkey and Greece will be held in Ankara. At the meeting, to be held at an undersecretarial level, combatting terrorism and drug trafficking as well as regional cooperation and trade relations will be discussed. If there is no last minute change in plans, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini will come to Ankara on September 16 to normalize relations between the two countries which suffered a blow with the sheltering of Ocalan in Italy. Turkish and Greek Foreign Ministers will meet in the US on September 23. Turkey and Greece, which became closer due to the earthquake disaster suffered by both, are going to discuss political issues. Prime Minister Ecevit will pay an official visit to the US President, Bill Clinton. During their meeting the aid from international organizations, Cyprus, Turco-Greek and Turco-Iraqi relations will be discussed and also human rights issues will be deliberated. In October, Foreign Minister Cem is expected to go to Finland and Sweden to hold bilateral talks with the Scandinavian countries who are sensitive on human rights' issues. On 18-20 November the last Summit of the millenium will be held in Istanbul. Due to the OSCE Summit to be held in Istanbul, Heads of State and Prime Ministers of close to 50 countries will come to Istanbul. President Clinton will then proceed on to Ankara to hold official talks. On December 10-11 the Helsinki Summit, where Turkey's candidacy to the EU will be decided, will take place. Amongst all this traffic it is commendable to see a mentality searching for a move in line with that move of our counterparts. However, it would be better to discover a way to leave the other parties in a position so as not to be able to say no." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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