ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that they were expecting the European Union (EU) Commission's 2003 Progress Report for Turkey to be a reasonable and acceptable report in which common sense prevailed.
Upon news prior to ''EU Communication Group'' meeting at Secretariat General for EU that Cyprus issue remained as a preliminary condition in EU process in strategy document of Progress Report, Gul said that it was not true and added that they would make statements after the official announcement of the report.
Noting that they had contacts regarding the report on Tuesday night, Gul said, ''I hope these will be concluded. I think that common sense will prevail. A reasonable and acceptable report will be revealed.''
Gul said that EU leaders knew that Cyprus issue was not a condition for EU and Copenhagen political criteria. He recalled that this was confirmed in Helsinki Summit in 1999 and by EU term president. Noting that Finland, as EU term president, had clearly guaranteed it in a letter sent to Ankara, Gul said that EU High Commissioner for Common Foreign Policy and Defense Javier Solana and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen, who brought the letter, were the witnesses for it and there were documents about it.
Noting that solving Cyprus problem was a different issue, Gul said that solving this issue would surely create a positive atmosphere, adding that they hoped that concrete steps were taken about the issue before May 1, 2004 and a mutual compromise would be reached.
Gul said that EU was a community which had a compromise culture and added, ''both sides should take steps for compromise. Both sides should walk together. One side should not have 'I joined the EU. I should feel comfortable' attitude.''
Meanwhile, Gul had met with Solana and Verheugen, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a meeting with EU Term President Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday.
(GC-AÖ) 05.11.2003