Gul: Spirit Of Ankara Agreement Should Be Evaluated Well

ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday that the spirit of Ankara Agreement, which drew the frame of integrity process between Turkey and the European Communities, should be evaluated well.
Issuing a message due to the 40th anniversary of the signing of Ankara Agreement, Gul said that the agreement set the full membership of Turkey to Community as a final target, and the responsibility, which the agreement imputed on sides, provided the beginning of a cooperation relation that was important and comprehensive.
Noting that Turkey and the European Union (EU) did not avoid from taking steps towards the final goal of the agreement, Gul said that Helsinki Summit in which Turkey's full membership candidacy was confirmed and Copenhagen Summit decisions which envisioned full membership negotiations calendar were the concrete examples of those steps.
Gul said that the government fulfilled most important reforms of the history of Republic after the Helsinki summit.
Gul said that the government announced that it would follow reform practices closely and eliminate the problems. He added that the spirit of Ankara Agreement should be evaluated well in such an important period.
(GC-Öª) 13.09.2003