Friday, 1 May 2009Turkey's Chief EU Negotiator Egemen Bagis congratulated Danish Ambassador (in Ankara) Jesper Vahr on his appointment as Nato Chef De Cabinet.
Bagis who received Vahr in the EU General Secretariat in Ankara said he hoped Vahr, as a person familiar with Turkey's concerns as well as sensitivities of the Turkish Nation, would be mindful about these in his new position and guide high level NATO officials including NATO SG in this direction.
Bagis said Turkey had the 2nd largest Military Force in the world, noting that Turkey's responsibility and powers in NATO should not be confused with its position in EU bodies. He said NATO was important for Turkey in the same way Turkey was important for NATO.
He said he had no doubts that NATO's next SG, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who would assume this position in August, would take Turkey's sensitivities into consideration.
Vahr said Denmark extended full support to Turkey's accession to the EU noting that the final goal of negotiations with Turkey which began in 2005 was full membership. He said negotiation process was a tough one due to responsibilities and criteria involved.
Vahr said despite difficulties there was progress in negotiations expressing his hope that the appointment of Bagis as Chief EU Negotiator would contribute to acceleration of momentum.
Answering a question regarding ROJ TV, a TV channel in Denmark broadcasting propaganda of terrorist organization PKK, Vahr said there was an ongoing legal process, regarded in Denmark as a criminal interrogation. He said there was a close cooperation between Denmark and Turkey regarding this issue adding that Danish authorities took some documents about ROJ TV from Turkey and they were still assessing them.
Vahr said this was not a political decision to be given by Denmark, but a legal process to be decided by prosecutor's in the light of evidence at hand. |
Friday, 1 May 2009
ANKARA (A.A)
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