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Turkish Press Review, 96-05-10From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] YILMAZ RECEIVES RUSSIAN JOURNALISTS[02] SOUTH KOREAN PM VISITS TURKEY[03] TURKEY WILL ASK FOR POLITICAL SUPPORT FROM US[04] DEMIREL WARNS RUSSIA[05] JAVIER SOLANA TO VISIT TURKEY[06] N.IRAQ CROSS-BORDER OPERATION ENDS[07] TURKEY STRENGTHENS ITS PLACE IN THE WEU[08] FOOTBALL DIPLOMACY FOR CYPRUS[09] 'ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP AGREEMENT' GOES INTO EFFECT[10] AUTOMOTIVE OUTPUT UP 9 % IN APRIL[11] TURKISH INDUSTRY GREW 11.4 % IN MARCHTURKISH PRESS REVIEWFRIDAY MAY 10, 1996[01] YILMAZ RECEIVES RUSSIAN JOURNALISTSPrime Minister Mesut Yilmaz received yesterday a group of Russian journalists visiting Turkey upon the official invitation of State Minister Ali Talip Ozdemir. Touching upon Greek and Syrian support for the PKK organization, Yilmaz expressed his hopes that Russia would join the countries trying to persuade Syria to abandon its policy of support for terrorism. "I believe that Turco-Russian relations will develop further", Yilmaz said and added that gradually improving friendly relations between Turkey and the Central Asian republics would have no negative implications for Russia. The prime minister also commented on the pipelines to carry Azeri oil and pointed out that transporting the oil via pipelines was the most suitable solution. He added that related disagreements could be resolved at the round table. /Cumhuriyet/[02] SOUTH KOREAN PM VISITS TURKEYSouth Korean Prime Minister Lee Soo-Sung arrived yesterday in Turkey at the official invitation of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. Contacts between the two prime ministers will be directed at improving bilateral economic relations, and regional and international issues will also be discussed. Commenting on the visit of the South Korean prime minister, some sources point out that former South Korean Foreign Minister Han Sung-Joo was recently appointed UN Cyprus Special Representative. /Cumhuriyet/[03] TURKEY WILL ASK FOR POLITICAL SUPPORT FROM USTurkey declared yesterday that it would look for alternative ways for transporting Caspian oil via Turkey. "We have not abandoned the Baku-Supsa pipeline" Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said in his weekly press conference yesterday. "But if there is any delay or reluctance on the realization of the Baku-Supsa route -which we consider as an essential component of the Baku-Ceyhan line- Turkey will use its own initiative to look at other alternatives". He said that a possible alternative was having talks with Georgia and Azerbaijan for the transit rights of Azeri oil.Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay will make a swift working visit to Washington on May 19-22, to discuss, along with Turco-Greek relations and Operation provideComfort, the oil pipeline issue and ask for Washington's support on the transportation of oil via Turkey. Gonensay will meet US Secretary of Defence William Perry and Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Ankara has also started issuing strong measures on the safety of the Bosphorus. "It is very clear that the safety of the straits and Istanbul cannot be jeopardized" Spokesman Nurkan said, adding Turkey was ready to make adjustments regarding the safety of its territorial waters. Nurkan's remarks indicate a pendingassessment in the Turkish Foreign Ministry of further measures Turkey can use against the large oil tankers which pass through the Bosphorus. "Turkey knows its responsibilities within the framework of the Montreux Convention" Nurkan assured. /Cumhuriyet/ [04] DEMIREL WARNS RUSSIATurkish President Suleyman Demirel, who was in Uzbekistan for an official visit, said on Wednesday that the Turkish straits could not be used to transport excessive amounts of Caspian crude oil to international markets. "The party that tries to increase the load on the straits excessively will find its tankers stacking up at the entrance of these straits" Demirel said. Turkey has been wary of an agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan that threatens to dangerously increase the oil tanker traffic in the Turkish straits. "Turkey is not telling any country that it cannot use the straits" Demirel said. But he added that the volume of traffic that these waterways could handle was ultimately limited. Demirel added that a pipeline running between Baku in Azerbaijan and Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast was "a must" and said he he believed everyone would comearound to realizing this eventually. /Cumhuriyet/[05] JAVIER SOLANA TO VISIT TURKEYJavier Solana, secretary-general of NATO, will at the end of this month pay his first visit to Turkey since being appointed to his position. He is expected to be in Ankara on May 22. Officials in Ankara reportedly expect Solana to concentrate on the problems between Turkey and Greece. It is anticipated that the secretary-general will also refer to confidence building measures in the Aegean during his negotiations in Ankara. /All papers/[06] N.IRAQ CROSS-BORDER OPERATION ENDSThe cross-border operation which Turkish forces launched during their pursuit of militants of the PKK terrorist organization ended yesterday morning. Officials said around 1,200 troops participated in the cross-border operation and thatits targets had been achieved. Defence Minister Otlan Sungurlu described the operation carried out against the PKK as a "hot pursuit".Replying to the reporters' questions during his weekly press conference, Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said Turkey was determinedto ensure the security of its borders. He said the cross-border operation had been limited in scope, adding that it was out of the question for Turkey to tolerate the existence of the PKK in northern Iraq. Pointing out that Turkey's exercising its right to hot pursuit should be viewed as natural, Nurkan said the regrouping of terrorists who escape from clashes in Turkey in border regions in northern Iraq could not be accepted. He emphasized that the Turkish Armed Forces' operations were not aimed at civilian targets and refuted reports that civilians in northern Iraq had suffered losses. He stressed that there were no settlements in the areas where the operations were carried out. /Hurriyet/ [07] TURKEY STRENGTHENS ITS PLACE IN THE WEUTurkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay who has been in London for the Ministerial meeting of the Western European Union(WEU), said that Turkey would strengthen its place in the WEU through "Joint Mission Force" between the WEU and NATO and he added that Turkey would be a de facto full member of the union. /Hurriyet/[08] FOOTBALL DIPLOMACY FOR CYPRUSIn an effort to ease tension between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot communities, International Football Federation, FIFA, plans to organize football matches between teams of the two seperate states in the island.FIFA officials said that the matches between Turkish and Greek Cypriots teams would be on a friendly competition basis. /Milliyet/ [09] 'ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP AGREEMENT' GOES INTO EFFECTTurkey and Uzbekistan, who signed an Eternal Friendship and Cooperation Agreement, have promised that they will not let their territories be used for attacksagainst each other. The agreement also stated that cooperation between the twocountries will be developed by multi-lateral support against threats aimed at their independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. It was noted that the agreement was not against a third party. The agreement foresees the development and cooperation based on historical and cultural ties between Turkey and Uzbekistan.After completing his official contacts in Uzbekistan yesterday, President Demirel will depart from Turkey on Sunday for Iran and then Turkmenistan. Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said in his weekly press conference yesterday that Demirel would attend an opening ceremony of a railway connection in Meshed, Iran on Sunday and Monday and on Tuesday and Wednesday participate inthe fourth summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashkabad. /Cumhuriyet/ [10] AUTOMOTIVE OUTPUT UP 9 % IN APRILTurkey's automotive output rose nine percent last month to 27,900 units from 25,602 in April 1995, the Association of Turkish Automotive Industry (OSD) said yesterday. OSD said motor vehicle production reached 100,352 in the first four months of 1996, up 13 % over the same 1995 period. The four- month output included 68,602 cars, up three repcent from January-April 1995, followed by 14,813 tractors, up 48 % from a year ago. In January-April, production of trucks increased 57 % to 7,062, pick-ups up 20 % to 4,986 and minibuses up 38 % to 2,791, compared with the same 1995 period. OSD said bus production surged 231 % to 791 inJanuary-April due to a rise in exports. Turkey's automotive output rose 20 % in 1995 to 319,498, including 233,414 passenger cars, up 10 % from 1994. Last year's imports were 34,930 motor vehicles, including 21,652 cars. /All papers/[11] TURKISH INDUSTRY GREW 11.4 % IN MARCHTurkey's industrial output rose 11.4 % in March compared to a 1.8 % decline inthe same 1995 month, the State Institute of Statistics said yesterday. It saidthe industrial production grew 8.5 % in the first quarter after a 4.2 % fall in the same 1995 period. The manufacturing industry recorded 10.6 % growth in March and 7.9 % in the first three months, compared to contractions of 2.6 % and 5.8 % in the respective periods of 1995. Mining sector output rose by 2.9% and energy sector grew by 19.2 % in March, it said. /All papers/ |