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Turkish Press Review, 98-04-01
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
01.04.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] FOREIGN MINISTER CEM IN PAKISTAN
[02] "PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION"
[03] TURKISH-MACEDONIAN-GREEK CULTURE MINISTERS IN STOCKHOLM
[04] EIGHT PERCENT GROWTH RATE
[05] ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
[06] EU MESSAGE TO ANKARA: NO BLOCK TO EXPANSION
[07] DEMIREL OPENS ANTALYA AIRPORT TERMINAL
[08] YILMAZ TALKS TO GERMAN PRESS
[01] FOREIGN MINISTER CEM IN PAKISTAN
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem has gone to Pakistan. During his
two-day official visit Cem will exchange views on bilateral and regional
issues and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between Turkey and
Pakistan. Completing his Pakistan visit Cem will go to Turkmenistan
tomorrow for a day-day official visit to discuss bilateral, political
and regional relations. /Sabah/
[02] "PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION"
A Spokesman for US Secretary of State James Rubin has evaluated the
PKK as a "brutal and separatist" terror organization. He added that the
department had evaluated the escape of high level leaders from the PKK
organization. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] TURKISH-MACEDONIAN-GREEK CULTURE MINISTERS IN STOCKHOLM
"A Power of Culture" summit organized by UNESCO in Stockholm
started on Monday. A 30-member Turkish delegation is headed by Culture
Minister Istemihan Talay. Macedonian, Greek and Turkish culture
ministers, Slobodan Unkovski, Evangelos Venizelos and Istemihan Talay
met at the opening of "Historical Macedonian Hphotograph exhibition.
Inviting Talay to Athens, Venizelos said that culture was a way to find
peace. Talay also said that he would like to host his Greek counterpart
in Ankara and Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] EIGHT PERCENT GROWTH RATE
Turkey's Gross National Product (GNP) amounted to TL 29.7
quadrillion in 1997 according to current rates. In a report by the
State Institute of Statistics, the per capita GNP in 1997 totalled
$3,048. Turkey's growth rate was 8 % in fixed prices in 1997.
/Milliyet/
[05] ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
While the European Union (EU) was meeting with the Greek Cypriot
Administration in Brussels yesterday, the first meeting of the
Association Council of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC), which aims at economic integration between the two
countries, was being held in Ankara. A declaration following the
Association Council gave a message to the EU and Greek Cypriots that a
historical mistake was being made. In the declaration, measures to be
taken for the realization of economic integration between Turkey and the
TRNC were outlined.
The declaration also noted that the integration process already
established in military and economic areas between the Greek Cypriot
Administration and Greece was now completed at the political level with
full membership negotiations initiated between the EU and Greek Cyprus.
The declaration said: "It is seen that it is not possible to achieve an
improvement in finding a solution to the Cyprus problem unless it is
accepted that there are two separate and equal states on the island".
/Milliyet/
[06] EU MESSAGE TO ANKARA: NO BLOCK TO EXPANSION
The European Union (EU) which officially started full membership
negotiations with the Greek Cypriot administration yesterday sent a
message to Ankara saying: "Don't obstruct". EU term-president and
British Foreign Minister Robin Cook said: "No one should obstruct the
EU expansion process". French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said, for
his part, that while the EU has kept its 1995 promise to Greek Cyprus
regarding full membership negotiations, the EU has not kept its promise
to Turkey for financial assistance. EU Commissioner responsible for
Foreign Relations Hans Van Den Broek also pointed out that financial aid
should be released.
Cook further noted that they were seeking to find a way for the
development of the EU Association Agreement with Turkey and that the
Association Council would convene next month. /Milliyet/
[07] DEMIREL OPENS ANTALYA AIRPORT TERMINAL
A new international flights terminal was opened yesterday with a
ceremony in which President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Mesut
Yżlmaz and other high level ministers participated. Speaking at the
ceremony, Demirel complained about bureaucratic obstacles preventing
Turkey from improving. /Hurriyet/
[08] YILMAZ TALKS TO GERMAN PRESS
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz yesterday met with German journalists
in Antalya, who were invited to Turkey by Oger Tur, tourism agency.
Responding to a suggestion by a German journalist that the number of
German tourists would be reduced because of recent remarks against
Germany by Yilmaz himself, Yilmaz said that his remarks had been
misinterpreted and that Turkish and German friendship would easily
overcome problems arising from this misunderstanding. /Hurriyet/
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