ANKARA - A consultation meeting will be held in Ankara between December 25 and 26, 2003 with the participation of Turkish ambassadors to the European Union (EU) member countries and to the other relevant centers.
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul will preside the meeting.
Releasing a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the ambassadors would also be received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
''We have taken the first step in a very important period in regard to our relations with the EU after the EU's Brussels Summit held between December 12 and 13, 2003. Our target is to get the earliest date in the EU's summit in December of 2004 for opening of accession talks with the EU,'' it said.
The statement noted, ''in order to take up Turkey-the EU relations in all dimensions in this critical period, a consultation meeting will be held in Ankara between December 25 and 26 with the participation of Turkish ambassadors to the EU-member countries and to the other relevant centers. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Gul will preside the meeting. The ambassadors will also be received by President Sezer and Prime Minister Erdogan.''
(UK-AÖ) 23.12.2003