Turkey Asks Support Of France For E.U. Membership

PARIS - Turkey asked support of France for opening of accession talks with the European Union (EU) before end-2004.
National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul met with Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie of France in Paris on Monday.
Responding questions of journalists following the meeting, Gonul said that relations between Turkey and the EU were taken up at the meeting.
''I informed Alliot-Marie on our sixth EU adjustment package on the issues of human rights and democratization. Turkey has been fulfilling its responsibilities in the EU full membership process. However, the EU should also fulfill its responsibilities. Therefore, we asked support of France, one of the most important members of the EU, for opening of accession talks with the EU before end-2004,'' he said.
Gonul said, ''we exchanged views on developments in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.''
''I told Alliot-Marie that Turkey did not share ideology of Iran, however it respects Iran's rooted culture. Turkey-Iran border has not changed for 300 years,'' he said.
Noting that defense industry cooperation between Turkey and France was also brought onto agenda, Gonul said that Turkey attributed importance to technology transfer.
(UK) 16.06.2003