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Turkish Press Review, 98-06-16
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
16.06.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] YILMAZ AND BAYKAL SIGN EARLY ELECTION PROTOCOL
[02] TURKEY, KAZAKHSTAN TARGET $1 BILLION TRADE VOLUME
[03] CHIRAC SENDS LETTER TO DEMIREL
[04] REPORT ON TERROR
[05] FRENCH COMMANDER IN TURKEY
[06] TURKEY AND LATVIA TO SIGN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
[07] STATE MINISTER TURK LEAVES FOR THE US
[08] IMF: TURKISH ECONOMY IS VERY TRANSPARENT
[09] HISTORIANS WILL JUDGE
[10] CARDIFF SUMMIT
[11] SCHRODER CALLS FOR SENSIBILITY IN TURKISH-GERMAN RELATIONS
[12] CLINTON'S MESSAGE TO YILMAZ REGARDING CYPRUS
[13] TURKISH OFFICIALS UNCOVER MISSILE PARTS ON MALTESE SHIP
[14] OECD SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ANKARA
[15] TURKISH AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS RISE 15 % IN JAN-MAY
[16] 'ESKIYA' RECEIVES TROIA FILM FESTIVAL AWARD
[01] YILMAZ AND BAYKAL SIGN EARLY ELECTION PROTOCOL
Prime 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 VOLUME
Kazakh 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 DEMIREL
French 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 TERROR
A 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 TURKEY
Chief 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 AGREEMENT
Turkish 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 US
Turkish 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 TRANSPARENT
According 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 JUDGE
In 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 SUMMIT
During 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 RELATIONS
Prime 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 CYPRUS
Following 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 SHIP
Turkish 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 ANKARA
Donald 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-MAY
Turkey'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 AWARD
The 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.
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