Austrian Foreign Minister Departs From Turkey

ANKARA - Austria`s FM Ursula Plassnik departed Tuesday from Ankara after completing her formal visit to Turkey.
Plassnik attended the opening of Turkey-Austria Neighborhood Workshop held in the capital city together with her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan, on Monday.
Babacan asked for "stronger support" against terrorism and "continued Austrian support" for Turkey`s EU membership, during the meeting.
At a press conference held after the meeting, Plasnik said, "As a solid partner, we stand by Turkey in its fight against terrorism."
The Austrian FM described Turkey`s EU reforms as "impressive," saying that Austria would continue to encourage EU-oriented efforts.
Plassnik also said Turkey needed to settle domestic controversies by itself, adding that "its European partners" could not be expected to intervene.
The guest minister also held meetings with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during her stay.
(OZG-ULG)