AMMAN - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Saturday, ''during Thessaloniki Summit of the European Union (EU), President Jacques Chirac of France stated that accession talks with Turkey could start earlier than December of 2004.''
Replying questions of journalists, Gul, who is currently in Dead Sea near Jordanian capital Amman to attend extraordinary annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, said, ''the Thessaloniki Summit of the EU is a very good beginning for Turkey. Turkey has not attended the European Conference before. However, it was changed.''
''Leaders of the EU countries welcomed reform process in Turkey with astonishment and excitement. They realized that Turkey was determined. Such an atmosphere has not been experienced so far,'' he said.
Noting that reforms were required in developed and civilized countries, Gul told reporters, ''the gravest thing is that we should have made these reforms earlier. Our people should have developed rights like peoples of the other countries. We will maintain the reform process.''
''We hope that accession talks between Turkey and the EU will be opened in end-2004. We will continue exerting efforts to this end,'' he said.
Responding a question about his scheduled meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Gul said, ''in fact, meetings to be held in Washington D.C. in the coming days are more important than this meeting. Main issues will be taken up in Washington D.C. Therefore, I attribute more importance to my visit to the United States.''
Replying a question about Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal's meetings in the United States, Gul said that it had been a 'very good and clear visit'.
''Unfortunately, some circles in Turkey were expending intense efforts in order to show the things in different way as they happened, and we were saying that it was not happening in that way. And it was once again proved that they were wrong. Actually, also the U.S. side looks to the future. Nobody is interested in the past. Only some circles in Turkey are interested in the past. So there are many things to do in the future. The U.S. side clearly sees these,'' he said.
Gul said that by sending very experienced diplomats to Iraq, they had determined what things could be done upon their reports, and there were many things that Turkey could do about the issue.
''The normal life in Iraq is very bad. If people are more pessimist today by comparing their life with the period before the war, then the real danger starts. So there are many things that Turkey can do in Iraq. There are not electricity, drinking water, telephone and gasoline in Iraq. Turkey is the only country in the region which can meet those demands in the best way. These are concrete proposals. With our own methods, we do connect electricity in a very short time. We do turn water into potable and drinking water in a very short time. Under a decision which was taken two days ago, we will send gasoline to Iraq by bringing extra fuel oil and diesel oil into Turkey. With this respect, we gave permission to private companies. We estimate that twenty or thirty trucks would start working again. In terms of humanitarian aid, one hundred and fifty thousand tons of aid equipment have been sent to Iraq via Turkey. Border gates are working. In coming days, two hospitals will be opened, one in Baghdad and the other in Kirkuk. If there is Iraq in question, there are many things to be done in many fields. Besides, Turkey's role and position in fight against terrorism and issues of security can't be ignored. So, as Turkey, we have self-confidence,'' Gul added.
(UK-MS) 21.06.2003