|
|
Turkish Press Review 96-05-22
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] SOLANA IN TURKEY
[02] EXPORTS CLIMB 11.7 %
[03] GONENSAY WARNS US REGARDING PROVIDE COMFORT
[04] ANKARA WELCOMES UN-IRAQ PIPELINE AGREEMENT
[05] AMB.ULUCEVIK SPEAKS AT THE 49TH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
[06] GERMAN AMBASSADOR COMMENTS ON TURCO-GERMAN RELATIONS
[07] ANNULMENT OF TURCO-ISRAELI AGREEMENT ON THE AGENDA
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
WEDNESDAY MAY 22, 1996
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] SOLANA IN TURKEY
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, who is due in Turkey today for a
visit, has reiterated that he is prepared to play a role in trying to
activate a rapprochement between Turkey and Greece if the sides ask this of
him. Underlining Turkey's continued importance for the North Atlantic
alliance, Solana indicated that he did not think this importance would
diminish in any way in the future. The NATO Secretary -General also lauded
Turkey's "generous" role in the alliance's Implementation Force in Bosnia.
This will be Solana's first visit to Turkey since he was appointed NATO
secretary-general, and is being billed as an "orientation visit".
Solana will meet with Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay today and with the
Chief of General Staff and Defence Minister tomorrow. /Milliyet/
[02] EXPORTS CLIMB 11.7 %
In the first four months of 1996, exports are expected to increase by 11.7
% to reach $7.6 billion, compared to the same period last year, according
to provisional statistics provided by the Exporters Union. Increase in
Turkish exports, which stood at 6.4 % in January and 3.2 % in February,
jumped to 32.8 % in March. While automotive and electronics exports
noticeably increased in the same period, textile and ready-wear exports
stayed at the same level. /Milliyet/
[03] GONENSAY WARNS US REGARDING PROVIDE COMFORT
Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, emerging from talks in Washington
with US officials on Monday, remained firm on Turkey's insistence on an
"all-round package deal" to problems over the Aegean between Ankara and
Athens. Gonensay, who was on a working visit to Washington with a
delegation of Foreign Ministry senior officials, mainly focused on
Turkish-Greek relations and Operation Provide Comfort during the first day
of his intensive contacts that included meetings with Secretary of State
Warren Christopher, Secretary of Defence William Perry, National Security
Adviser Anthony Lake, and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European
and Canadian Affairs John Kornblum. Gonensay met with Deputy Secretary of
Energy Charles Curtis yesterday to discuss the future of the Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline.
Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) was one of the top items on Gonensay's
agenda for discussions with his American counterparts. He said he drew a
picture for the Americans which reflected the political frustration the
Turkish people and Parliament were experiencing because of the ongoing
imbalance of power that emerged in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the
Gulf War. He said he conveyed DSP leader Ecevit's proposals to restructure
OPC in a manner more congruent with the expectations of the Turkish
Parliament. "Our suggestions were received positively, with understanding"
he said.
In a press conference after meeting with Christopher, Gonensay said that
Turkey was determined to solve its Aegean disputes with Greece either
through direct negotiations or through a "third-party mechanism" -but with
one condition: "We consider all Aegean issues as interlinked" he said,
referring to such issues as the limits of territorial waters; FIR
demarcation; demilitarization of islands; airspace limits; and exploitation
of the continental shelf. His US counterparts regarded the Turkish approach
as both rational and congruent with international law, he said.
/Cumhuriyet/
[04] ANKARA WELCOMES UN-IRAQ PIPELINE AGREEMENT
Ankara has welcomed the signing of an agreement between the UN and Iraq
that envisages a limited sale of Iraqi oil. Baghdad will export two billion
dollars worth of oil in six months under the agreement.
Ankara has made great efforts to achieve this end under the auspices of the
UN and Baghdad for two years. Ankara expects that the deal will lead to a
gradual abolition of the oil embargo imposed on Iraq and bring stability to
Iraq. /Hurriyet/
[05] AMB.ULUCEVIK SPEAKS AT THE 49TH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
Speaking at the 49th World Health Assembly, Turkey's permanent
representative to the World Health Organization in Geneva, Ambassador Tugay
Ulucevik said: "The world has become a global village and one thing that is
certain is that diseases know no boundaries. Our aim is to establish a
future in which disease and preventable deaths are eliminated". He noted
that health has become a political, social and economic issue in many
countries, and thus health issues are given the utmost importance.
According to Ulucevik, health policies should go beyond the health sector,
and inter-sectoral cooperation is needed. He said that a draft proposal for
health care reform in Turkey had been prepared. /All papers/
[06] GERMAN AMBASSADOR COMMENTS ON TURCO-GERMAN RELATIONS
German Ambassador to Ankara Dr.Hans-Joachim Vergau gave a conference on
Turco-German relations at Edirne Chamber of Trade. Vergau expressed his
pleasure that the assasination attempt against President Demirel had
failed. He noted that Germany would not receive warmly a Turkish government
aiming to alienate Turkey from Europe. Commenting on German policy
regarding Turkey's full membership in the European Union, Ambassador Vergau
said that Turkey being a Muslem country was not an obstacle to its being
accepted into the EU. "Since 1963, Turkey and Europe have experienced
important changes. Efforts to set a definite date for the acception of
Turkey into the EU on the grounds of the Ankara Agreement is not
realistic," Vergau added. /Milliyet/
[07] ANNULMENT OF TURCO-ISRAELI AGREEMENT ON THE AGENDA
Some negative impacts of the Turco-Israeli agreement for military
cooperation recently signed between the two countries may force Turkey to
withdraw from the agreement. At a party group meeting yesterday, Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz noted that the agreement had brought more damage than
benefit to Turkey, since nobody had managed to convince the Arab countries
that this was nothing more than a simple agreement for training
cooperation. In reply to a related question, National Defence Minister
Oltan Sungurlu pointed out that an annulment of the agreement was
possible".
The agreement has led to strong reactions among the muslem countries
especially after Israel attacked the Hizbullah Cana camp. The incident
involving Ibrahim Gumrukcuoglu, who attempted to murder President Suleyman
Demirel also stemmed from negative reaction to the agreement. /Milliyet/
|