ANKARA - The Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday that there would be no change in Turkey`s foreign policy.
Turkey`s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that Turkey`s foreign policy would not change after it became a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
In last Friday`s voting at the UN General Assembly, Turkey won two-thirds of votes (equal to 151 votes) and secured a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council in the Western European and Others Group.
Turkey will formally begin joining the council sessions as of January 1, 2009, but monitoring the sessions as of November 15, 2008.
"Whatever we have said about Cyprus issue so far, we will continue to say the same things after we become a member of the Security Council," Babacan told the private NTV channel.
Babacan said the issues the UN Security Council was dealing with were mainly matters that Turkey monitored closely.
Turkey would continue to say the same thing about Caucasus problem, or developments in the Middle East, he said.
"We will maintain our principled attitude after we join the Security Council," Babacan said.
Babacan also said that Turkey would also cope with problems that it had not dealt with before after it started to participate in Security Council sessions.
The United Nations Security Council is the branch of the UN charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization for military action.
The council has five permanent members, including France, China, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.
Ten other members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The members are chosen by regional groups and confirmed by the United Nations General Assembly. The African bloc chooses three members; the Latin America and the Caribbean, Asian, and Western European and Others blocs choose two members each; and the Eastern European bloc chooses one member. Also, one of these members is an Arab country, alternately from the Asian or African bloc.
(BRC-MS)
(DIP)