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"Turkey Determined on Normalization of Relations with Armenia" |
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Monday, 29 June 2009The Turkish foreign minister expressed on Sunday Turkey's determination about the ongoing negotiation process with Armenia.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had a brief meeting with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian in the Greek island of Corfu on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) foreign ministers and informal NATO-Russia foreign ministers meeting in Corfu.
Davutoglu said Turkey was determined to maintain its stance on normalizing relations with Armenia.
"This approach is in line with our vision to have zero problem with our neighbors," Davutoglu told reporters.
Davutoglu said that Turkey had a sustainable welfare, security and peace perspective on the Caucasus, and positive results could be gained soon if all parties worked for that target.
Also, Davutoglu defined the OSCE and NATO meetings in Corfu as fruitful, and said he had the opportunity to meet Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni on the sidelines of the meetings.
Davutoglu said that Bakoyianni and he thought that two countries should work on common interests with a high-level dialogue instead of discussing issues that might cause crisis.
The Turkish minister said it was natural to have differences of opinion between parties, but also said parties should be aware of each other's positions and respect them.
Davutoglu said minorities should act like a bridge between the two countries, and this role should be strengthened.
The Turkish minister also said both countries were supporting the ongoing Cyprus negotiation process.
Davutoglu also said that the illegal migration was not a Turkish-Greek issue, and defined both Turkey and Greece as transit countries not target countries.
"This issue is a crime of humanity and a global matter, and should be handled this way. We will naturally make every type of cooperation," he said.
Davutoglu said he was expecting to see Bakoyianni in Turkey soon, and thus they would have the opportunity to have a more detailed meeting.
Davutoglu also had talks with European foreign policy chief Javier Solana, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, and Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Azim Azimov.
The Turkish minister said the EU and Turkey decided to cooperate in foreign policy, and quoted Solana as saying that the EU was appreciating Turkey's good relations with all actors.
Before returning to Turkey, Davutoglu visited the Turkish Martyrdom in Corfu, becoming the first Turkish foreign minister visiting the martyrdom.
The Turkish Martyrdom in Corfu was an area donated by Queen Olga, the spouse of Greek King George I in 1890, to the Ottoman Empire, and was established as a Muslim graveyard.
People who died in Greece during the war between Ottoman Empire and Greece in 1897, the Balkan Wars, the World War I and War of Independence were buried in this martyrdom.
Turkey's Consulate in Corfu repaired the graveyard in 1924 and turned it into a martyrdom. |
Monday, 29 June 2009
CORFU (A.A)
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