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Turkish Press Review, 97-11-18
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] UZBEKISTAN PRESIDENT IN TURKEY
[02] YILMAZ SETS OUT FOR TALKS IN ROME, MADRID
[03] ANKARA EXPRESSES CONCERN, CALLS FOR RESTRAINT
[04] AGREEMENT WITH IMF ON THE WAY
[05] CEM: "WE DO NOT CONFRONT ARABS"
[06] ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AYKUT IN TUNISIA
[07] TURKEY EXTENDS OLIVE BRANCH TO GREECE
[08] NATO CHIEF COMMANDER IN ANKARA
[09] FM CEM WARNS RUSSIA
[10] TURKISH STRAITS DISCUSSED IN LONDON
[11] NORTHERN CYPRIOT STOCK EXCHANGE
[12] CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN ANKARA
[13] UN INCREASES EFFORTS ON CYPRUS CONFLICT
[14] ANKARA ASKS FOR SERIOUS DISCUSSION AT EU MEETING
[15] SLADZIC EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER DAYTON ACCORD
[16] ARMY WANTS GOVERNMENT TO TAKE 'URGENT ACTION' IN SOUTHEAST
[17] TURKEY REFUSES US CREDITS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER
18.11.97
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] UZBEKISTAN PRESIDENT IN TURKEY
Uzbekistan President Islam Kerimov is paying an official visit to
Ankara on the official invitation of President Suleyman Demirel.
Kerimov said that Turkey was a country of special importance for
Uzbekistan and said that the Turkish government had been the first to
extend support to Uzbekistan after the country gained its
independence. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] YILMAZ SETS OUT FOR TALKS IN ROME, MADRID
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will pay a two-day official visit to
Italy and Spain, starting on November 23, as part of his continuing
campaign to strengthen Turkey's European Union bid. /All papers/
[03] ANKARA EXPRESSES CONCERN, CALLS FOR RESTRAINT
Turkey reiterated yesterday its concern over escalating tensions
in the Gulf as Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz chaired a quadrilateral
summit on developments. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said
that Ankara was concerned with the escalation of tension in the Gulf
and expected that current tensions could be defused through
negotiation. Speaking to reporters after the summit at the Prime
Ministry which was attended by Chief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki
Karadayi, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem, Yilmaz said that the US has not made any request to Turkey
for the use of Incirlik base.
Meanwhile, Turkey estimated its losses from seven years of UN
sanctions on its neighbour, Iraq, at $30 billion, but said it was
still part of the US-led coalition that defeated Iraq in the 1991 Gulf
War. "We estimate that our losses have reached as high as $30 billion
since the start of hostilities in the Gulf" Foreign Ministry Spokesman
Sermet Atacanli said at a news briefing. Atacanli noted that Turkey
favoured a lifting of the embargo only if Baghdad implemented the UN
resolutions. "We are a member of the international coalition and
there is no change in our position. We feel that Iraq must comply
with all the relevant UN resolutions". Approximately 7,000 Turkish
truckers remained stranded inside Iraq as of Monday and were in a
"desperate condition", waiting for Baghdad to resume an illicit diesel
fuel trade. The trade, vital to the economy near Turkey's border with
Iraq, has been cut during the crisis over UN arms monitoring.
/Milliyet-Hurriyet/
[04] AGREEMENT WITH IMF ON THE WAY
Meetings being held between the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and a Turkish delegation headed by State Minister Gunes Taner in
Washington are giving out positive signals. There are some comments
that the "IMF's 17th agreement with Turkey is on the way". It is
reported that the agreement with the IMF will be for three years as
Turkey wants. Meetings with the IMF in Washington will end today.
/Hurriyet/
[05] CEM: "WE DO NOT CONFRONT ARABS"
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem stated yesterday that no
application was made to Turkey for the use of bases in Turkey for a
military intervention in Iraq. He added that Turkey would abstain
from confronting Arab countries. Replying to questions in the Greek
and Turkish services of the Voice of America (VOA) radio service, Cem
said that Turkey suffered great economic losses during the Gulf crisis
and furthermore had been left with a terror problem. Cem added:
"Turkey has good relations both with the Arab countries and Israel.
In case of war, if the Arab countries assume a joint stance against
Turkey, Turkey will lose a lot from this. Therefore we are being
prudent". /Hurriyet/
[06] ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AYKUT IN TUNISIA
Turkish Environment Minister Imren Aykut went to Tunisia
yesterday to attend meetings on "Mediterranean Environment Action
Union". Aykut said: "We will especially discuss the prevention of
pollution by wastes from vessels and aircraft". /Hurriyet/
[07] TURKEY EXTENDS OLIVE BRANCH TO GREECE
Turkey has sent a message that it is ready to put into effect a
moratorium which envisages unarmed flight in the Aegean. This
peaceful approach by Turkey was made through Turkish Defense Minister
Ismet Sezgin, who attended the Council of Defense Ministers of the
Western European Union (WEU) in Germany. Replying to a question by a
Greek journalist, Sezgin pointed out that Turkey preferred to resolve
problems with Greece through dialogue". /Hurriyet-Milliyet/
[08] NATO CHIEF COMMANDER IN ANKARA
NATO Chief Commander of the European Allied Forces Gen.Mesley
Clark met with Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki
Karadayi in Ankara yesterday. They discussed various issues including
Turkish-Greek tension, and Turkey's relations with Middle Eastern and
European countries. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/
[09] FM CEM WARNS RUSSIA
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that the transportation of Azeri
early oil to international markets via the Turkish Straits would not
be as easy as expected by Russia. He stressed that passage through
the Straits was regulated by international conventions, and pointed
out that the Turkish government was obliged to undertake measures to
protect its people and the environment. Cem stressed that maritime
transportation of Azeri oil to world markets should not emerge as an
alternative to pipeline transportation, and noted that Turkey was
exerting efforts in support of the Baku-Ceyhan project. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] TURKISH STRAITS DISCUSSED IN LONDON
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will discuss
passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits at its 20th
General Assembly meeting. With a regulation issued in 1994, Turkey
imposed a number of limitations on the passage of tankers carrying oil
and inflammable materials through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles
straits. Russia, Greece and Bulgaria have tabled objections to this
regulation. /Sabah/
[11] NORTHERN CYPRIOT STOCK EXCHANGE
The Northern Cypriot Stock Exchange Market, that has actually
been operating since October 24, was officially opened yesterday by
Turkish State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel. In a speech at the ceremony,
said that the Northern Cypriot Stock Exchange will help the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) establish itself not only as a
political, but also as an economic power in the region. /Sabah/
[12] CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN ANKARA
Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy met with his Turkish
counterpart Ismail Cem in Ankara yesterday and sought Turkey's support
for a "Convention on prohibiting the use, stockpiling, production and
transfer of anti-personnel mines, and their destruction" to be held in
Ottowa from December 2-4, when the convention will be signed. The
Canadian minister also sought Ankara's support for a joint
multi-billion dollar bid by joint Canadian-Turkish company Atomic
Energy Limited (AEL) for the Akkuyu Nuclear Project.
[13] UN INCREASES EFFORTS ON CYPRUS CONFLICT
As intensive diplomatic efforts increase in Cyprus, the UN's
Special Cyprus Coordinator Diego Cordovez is due to arrive in Cyprus
later on Tuesday for a four-day visit. Cordovez will attempt to bring
Denktas and Klerides together during his visit, and will definitely
meet seperately with both of them, according to the UN's resident
representative on the island, Gustave Feissel. Cordovez is expected
to visit Athens, Ankara, Brussels and Paris. /All papers/
[14] ANKARA ASKS FOR SERIOUS DISCUSSION AT EU MEETING
Turkey affirmed yesterday that it wants the Joint Council meeting
with the European Union which is scheduled for November 24 to be a
substantive session with an official agenda, Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Sermet Atacanli said at a weekly press conference. Atacanli
noted that Turkey's aim is to make sure that the meeting adheres to
its original targets and added that certain countries were trying to
turn the Council meeting into a "dinner" and that Ankara would not
accept this. /All papers/
[15] SLADZIC EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER DAYTON ACCORD
The co-chairman of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haris
Sladzic, met with Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz yesterday and said he
had discussed Bosnian concerns about the implementation of the Dayton
agreement, the Anatolia news agency reported. Sladzic reportedly
conveyed to the Turkish Prime Minister that many of the conditions
signed in Dayton had not been implemented.Sladzic also met with
Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin during his visit.
[16] ARMY WANTS GOVERNMENT TO TAKE 'URGENT ACTION' IN SOUTHEAST
General Staff officials are urging the government to take
immediate economic and social measures as a follow-up to the victory
won by the military against the PKK terrorist organization in Turkey's
southeastern region. They emphasized that terrorism has been brought
to an end in the eastern and southeastern regions by the resolute
struggle of the security forces. Yesterday, Maj.Gen.Bekir Ugurlu
briefed a group of Turkey's leading journalists in the eastern city of
Van, invited by the military to tour the region and observe the
situation in the Southeast. /All papers/
[17] TURKEY REFUSES US CREDITS
The Foreign Ministry released a statement yesterday highlighting
US credits to Turkey. According to the press release, the US has
proposed extending $175 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
and $50 million in Economic Support Fund (ESF) aid. The Turkish
government has once again told the US Congress that Turkey refuses to
accept the US funds for 1998 as long as they emerge from Congress in
this form, which is seen by the Turkish government as "foreign
intervention in domestic affairs".
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