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Turkish Press Review, 98-06-16Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>16.06.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] YILMAZ AND BAYKAL SIGN EARLY ELECTION PROTOCOLPrime Minister and Motherland Party Chairman Mesut Yilmaz and Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal signed yesterday a protocol which confirms their agreement over an early election, reached by the two leaders when they met on June 3. /All papers/[02] TURKEY, KAZAKHSTAN TARGET $1 BILLION TRADE VOLUMEKazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, currently on an official visit to Turkey, stated yesterday that trade volume between the two countries should be increased to $1 billion and that Kazakhstan was planning a 10-year project to achieve this goal.Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev thanked Turkish President Suleyman Demirel for the huge success of Turkish contractors in the construction of the new Kazakh capital, Astana. Turkish firms have undertaken 70 % of the construction projects in the new capital. Following a meeting between the delegations of the two countries, a Tourism Cooperation Agreement was signed yesterday by the ministers of the two countries. The two countries have also agreed to intensify cooperation in the areas of oil and natural gas production. Demirel strongly recommended that certain transportation problems be solved in order to facilitate bilateral trade. Nazarbayev is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz today. [03] CHIRAC SENDS LETTER TO DEMIRELFrench President Jacques Chirac has sent a letter to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel. Chirac noted in his letter that the so-called Armenian genocide bill has not been approved yet by the French Senate and said that France would not support any initiative that could damage Turco-French relations. Chirac stated that France always wanted to maintain good relations with Turkey. /Milliyet/[04] REPORT ON TERRORA report on terrorism presented to President Suleyman Demirel notes that in 31,343 terrorist incidents between 1984-1998, a total of 22,129 terrorists were killed. The report notes that during the first five months of 1998, 938 terrorists were either killed or wounded. /Milliyet/[05] FRENCH COMMANDER IN TURKEYChief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi received French Land Forces Commander Gen.Philipe Mercier yesterday. Karadayi and Mercier presented shields of honour to each other. /Sabah/[06] TURKEY AND LATVIA TO SIGN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTTurkish State Minister Isin Celebi and Latvian Minister of Economy Laimonis Straujevics will sign a free trade agreement on June 16 in Ankara, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Treasury Undersecretariat said that trade volume between the two countries would increase after the free trade agreement.[07] STATE MINISTER TURK LEAVES FOR THE USTurkish State Minister Hikmet Sami Turk went to the US on Sunday to hold several contacts, reports the Anatolia news agency. Prior to his departure from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Turk said that he would meet with officials from the US State Department and the US Department of Justice during his visit to the US. Turk noted that he would meet with US Deputy Secretary of State Shattuck, responsible for human rights. State Minister Turk and an accompanying delegation will return to Turkey on June 20.[08] IMF: TURKISH ECONOMY IS VERY TRANSPARENTAccording to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Turkish economy is highly transparent when compared to other developing countries. An evaluation made by the IMF following consultations within the framework of developments in the economy shows that the Turkish economy is further advancing on the way to full transparency. The IMF noted that due to growing transparency, the Turkish economy was not highly affected by the Asian crisis. /Hurriyet/[09] HISTORIANS WILL JUDGEIn a statement to Hurriyet daily newspaper, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said that French policy regarding Turkey had not changed. Vedrine noted that Turkey was a very important country from the strategic, cultural and economic standpoint for France, and added that even the parliamentarians who had approved the so-called Armenian genocide bill at the French National Assembly hoped for good relations with Turkey. Vedrine said: "Historians will judge the course of history". /Hurriyet/[10] CARDIFF SUMMITDuring a two-day summit which started yesterday in Cardiff, Wales, Turkey became an important issue for discussion. During the summit, hosted by EU term-President Britain, great efforts are being exerted for the normalization of Turkish-EU relations, which entered a tense period following a Luxembourg decision some months ago that excluded Turkey from full EU membership candidates.Prior to the summit, British Prime Minister Tony Blair phoned Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and said that he would make every effort to find a formula to ease Turkish-EU relations. It is reported that a new fund, which foresees the provision of voluntary financial aid from 14 EU countries apart from Greece, is on the agenda. British Press Spokesman Alastair Campell blamed Greece for blocking positive signals to Turkey. /Hurriyet/ [11] SCHRODER CALLS FOR SENSIBILITY IN TURKISH-GERMAN RELATIONSPrime minister nominee from the Main Opposition Social Democrat Party in Germany Gerhard Schroder said that there should be more "sensibility" in Turkish-German relations. In a statement to journalists in Bonn yesterday, Schroder talked about his party's political targets prior to an election to be held on September 27. He said: "I regard Turkey's approach towards Europe as a correct stance. Of course, the free movement of workers is an important bargaining issue. However to use political force for the solution to this problem is not correct". He added that he would exert efforts for a new start in Turkish-German relations. /Hurriyet/[12] CLINTON'S MESSAGE TO YILMAZ REGARDING CYPRUSFollowing an increase in Russian-made S-300 missile tension in Cyprus in recent days, US President Bill Clinton sent a message to Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz via US Ambassador to Ankara Mark Parris yesterday. The message suggested that Turkey should be "more flexible". Clinton said in his message that Ankara should exert further efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem. Yilmaz then held a meeting with Parris and told him that if Greeks and Greek Cypriots continued with their negative stance, a solution to the Cyprus problem would be impossible. Yilmaz also noted that showing flexibility would be very hard if there was no change in the deployment of S-300 missiles in the Greek Cypriot Administration. Yilmaz stated that negotiations continuing between the Greek Cypriot Administration and the EU were damaging all the good-will initiatives of Turkey. Yilmaz reaffirmed that Turkey wanted a solution within the framework of good-will and mutual understanding. /Hurriyet/[13] TURKISH OFFICIALS UNCOVER MISSILE PARTS ON MALTESE SHIPTurkish officials inspecting a Maltese registered ship yesterday found seven mobile missile launchers they suspected were parts for the controversial Russian-made S-300 missiles bound for Greek Cyprus. Acting upon an intelligence tip-off, customs officials stopped the ship, which had a Russian crew, off the town of Gelibolu in the Dardanelles Straits and began an inspection of the ship's hold. The launchers were found in the hold of the ship, which declared its cargo to be 142 tractors bound from Russia to Egypt. The tractors were on board and were registered in the manifest, but there was no record of the missile parts.Customs officials said that ships carrying military equipment were required to inform Turkish authorities of their intention to pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles 24 hours before their passage. No such notification had been made by the ship, Natasha-1. In Moscow, a Russian official, speaking anonymously said that the ship stopped by the Turkish officials had nothing to do with the S-300 missiles. "The shipment of the S-300 missiles has not started yet" he said, according to the Anatolia news agency. [14] OECD SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ANKARADonald Johnston, OECD Secretary-General, said that the globalization process will have a positive affect on the world economy and that any obstacles hindering this process should be removed. Johnston, who began meetings in Ankara yesterday morning, gave a conference entitled "Challenges Against Globalization" in Ankara.He said that the effects of globalization were not limited to just the economic realm, but can be found in many other areas as well, including culture and law, the Anatolia news agency reported. [15] TURKISH AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS RISE 15 % IN JAN-MAYTurkey's automotive sector exports rose to $607.10 million in the first five months of this year, up 15 % from $527.11 million in the same 1997 period, the Automotive Industry Association (OSD) said yesterday.[16] 'ESKIYA' RECEIVES TROIA FILM FESTIVAL AWARDThe Turkish film 'Eskiya (Bandit)' was awarded with the "Great Award" of the Troia International Film Festival organized in Portugal, reports the Anatolia news agency. 'Eskiya' which was directed by famous Turkish director Yavuz Turgul received this major award at the 14th Film Festival in Troia, Portugal.Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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