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Turkish Press Review, 06-12-25
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
25.12.2006
[00]
PARLIAMENT TOP FINALIZE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS THIS WEEK
Parliament will this week conclude discussions on next year's budget that
have been ongoing since November. The final talks will take place today,
and deputies will vote on the budget as a whole. Leaders of parties in
Parliament are expected to speak during the day. Moreover, on Wednesday,
Parliament will also asses the law on appointment of the founding rectors
of 15 new universities, which was vetoed by the President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer. /Turkish Daily News/
TURKISH DELEGATION CHAIRED BY ERDOGAN ATTENDS NIYAZOV'S FUNERAL CEREMONY
Saparmurat Niyazov, the authoritarian president who has for two decades
dominated life in Turkmenistan with his all-encompassing cult of
personality, was laid to rest yesterday. Prominent Turkish figures were
present at the funeral ceremony. Turkish delegation chaired by Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and composed of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
Environment and Forestry Minister Osman Pepe, Energy and Natural Resources
Minister Hilmi Guler, various Turkish deputies, mayors and businessmen,
constituted the biggest foreign delegation among delegations from 40
countries and international organizations that
were participating in the funeral. Following the ceremony, Erdogan
expressed his and the Turkish nation's
condolences in a special book for Niyazov, saying that he and his nation
were deeply saddened with the death of the founder of Turkmenistan Niyazov,
who was a great statesman. "We share the sorrow of the Turkmen nation,"
wrote Erdogan. "We'll always remember with respect Niyazov's contributions
to improving ties between Turkey and Turkmenistan." Niyazov was buried at a
family mausoleum. /Sabah/
CONTENTS
[00]
PARLIAMENT TOP FINALIZE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS THIS WEEK
[01] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: "EU IS APPLYING DOUBLE STANDARD TOWARDS TURKEY"
[02] US ENVOY IN GREECE CITES LEGAL OBSTACLES FOR DIRECT FLIGHTS
[03] GERMAN FM: "TURKEY'S EU APPROACH IS IN OUR INTEREST"
[04] BAKONYANNIS INVITES GUL TO ATHENS
[05] RICE PRAISES TURKEY'S IRAQ POLICY
[06] LA REPUBLICA: "EUROPE HARMS ITSELF IF IT REJECTS TURKEY"
[07] IS THIS POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH RELATIONS WITHOUT ANY PRECONDITION WITH YEREVAN?
[01] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: "EU IS APPLYING DOUBLE STANDARD TOWARDS TURKEY"
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said over the weekend that
the European Union was applying double standard towards Turkey during its
EU membership process. Saying that some countries proposed privileged
partnership for Turkey, Lillikas added that Turkey's EU talks were open-
ended and that full membership wasn't guaranteed. "The leading countries
requested this," said Lillikas, adding that the Greek Cypriot
administration supported Turkey's full EU membership. /Milliyet/
[02] US ENVOY IN GREECE CITES LEGAL OBSTACLES FOR DIRECT FLIGHTS
US Ambassador to Athens Charles Ries said yesterday that legal obstacles
stand in the way of direct flights between the United States and northern
Cyprus due to international treaties. Speaking to a newspaper, Ries stated
that the US administration examined the issue of direct flights to the TRNC,
but reached a negative conclusion. Ries, in an interview with Greek daily
Tipos Tis Kiriakis, said Washington had worked on ways to start direct
flights with northern Cyprus at the request of the Turkish government but
had reached a negative conclusion on the issue, the Anatolia news agency
reported from Athens on Sunday. "We examined the issue of direct flights
for easing the isolation [imposed on the Turkish Cypriots], but there are
two problems: This is not appropriate from a commercial aspect, and also
there are legal obstacles with regard to international treaties," Anatolia
quoted the ambassador as saying." /Cumhuriyet/
[03] GERMAN FM: "TURKEY'S EU APPROACH IS IN OUR INTEREST"
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said yesterday that further
efforts that aimed at making the country a member of the European Union are
in the interests of the Union. In his comments published in German Berliner
Morgenpost newspaper, Steinmeier, who is a Social Democrat member of
Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling grand and supporter of Turkey's EU bid,
urged the EU to press on with membership talks with Turkey. /The New
Anatolian/
[04] BAKONYANNIS INVITES GUL TO ATHENS
Speaking to Elefterotipia daily, Greece's Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis
said that the Cyprus
issue would be receiving considerable attention in 2007 at both the United
Nations and the European Union levels, adding that it would take time for
the incoming UN secretary-general to make new recommendations on the issue.
Stressing that it would be wrong to expect a resolution for an issue, which
lasted for more than three decades, within one or two years, the Greek
foreign minister said that however, the Cyprus issue is expected to shift
into a new orbit. Furthermore, Bakoyannis said that she was expecting his
Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul's delayed visit to Athens to take place
very soon but was unable to furnish a specific date. /Turkiye/
[05] RICE PRAISES TURKEY'S IRAQ POLICY
During an interview with The Associated Press last week, US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice praised Turkey's policy on Iraq. Stressing that
certain neighboring countries like Turkey have been quite helpful while
some others have not been, Rice said that Iran's influence and activities
were feeding violence in Iraq. Touching upon the PKK presence in northern
Iraq, Rice said that Turks and the US were dealing with the problem in a
trilateral cooperative mechanism. /Hurriyet/
[06] LA REPUBLICA: "EUROPE HARMS ITSELF IF IT REJECTS TURKEY"
Italian La Republica daily said yesterday that postponement or cut off as
regards Turkey's accession talks would greatly cost to the European Union.
Criticizing the EU's stance to Turkey, the daily said that it was too late
for alternatives rather than full membership. Underlining that the Greek
Cyprus was accepted by the bloc without resolving its issues, the article
also pointed out that Turkey was a very important country for the EU with
its powerful army, stable economy and its influence in the Mideast.
/Turkiye/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[07] IS THIS POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH RELATIONS WITHOUT ANY PRECONDITION WITH
YEREVAN?
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on an article written by Armenian Defense
Minister Serge Sargsian and published on The Wall Street Journal. A summary
of her column is as follows:
"In an article in The Wall Street Journal, Armenian Defense Minister Serge
Sargsian called on for normalizing relations with Turkey without any
precondition, which is very pleasing. However, unfortunately, it's not
sufficient for opening a real door of dialogue, because Sargsian didn't
discuss the issue with all its dimensions in his article. He wrote that
neither Turks, nor Armenians will leave the region and the logical solution
to establish relations with each other and that neighbors do it in today's
world. He added that we can't stay enemies forever and that we must take
steps forward for our future. It's impossible not to agree with him. Who
can object to these words? There are very warm relations between the
Turkish and Armenian nations, aren't there? Why wouldn't we crown this
closeness with diplomatic relations? He wrote that this opening wouldn't
mean that they have given up the claims on Armenian genocide and the
European Union must relate this issue with Turkey's full membership. Even
if we leave this suggestion aside, his presentation is lacking, because
Armenia's preconditions aren't the only thing that matters. As long as
Azerbaijan's invasion and the Karabagh issue continue, is this possible to
correct Armenian-Turkish relations? What's more, he claimed that Turkey
doesn't act constructively. This isn't true. Turkey is one of the founding
countries of the Minsk group which tries hard for a solution and it has
been making efforts for the solution of the problem since the very
beginning. Even if a concern on overcoming the pressure from Europe and the
US is felt in his article, this wish for peace must be taken seriously by
taking the future developments in the region into account.
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are three valuable neighbors for us and
important developments are expected to occur in this region. The stability
will be very important in southern Caucasia, which will feel the effects of
Turkmenistan's president death and the harsh competition of oil between
Russia and the West. It's vitally important not only for Turkey, but also
for the West's interests to solve the problems between these three
countries. The region's importance for the US' interests appeared once more
when US President George W. Bush received Azerbaijani Ambassador to
Washington Yashar Aliyev. Bush said to Aliyev two weeks ago that the US
supported Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and that the US would try to
solve the problems as soon as possible. Meanwhile, another important
development caused Yerevan to review its policies. The EU stated that it
didn't recognize the referendum of independence in Karabagh and told
Yerevan that neither the referendum, nor its solution would be accepted
legally, before the problem is solved. Next year, it's possible to see the
results of approaches of the EU and the US towards the region as southern
Caucasia's rapprochement to the West. Problems and conflicts which would
hinder this process must be certainly solved. Although Yerevan's call is
insufficient, it's worth discussing it with certain creative suggestions."
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