ANKARA - Pakistani Ambassador to Turkey Sher Afgan Khan said on Saturday that if Turkish government made an official demand for recognition of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), they would assess the issue seriously.
Recalling their support to Turkey on admission of TRNC as ''Turkish Cypriot State'' in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Khan said that as the member of the U.N. Security Council, Pakistan also exerted great effort to end economic isolation of TRNC.
Replying to a question on Turkey's European Union (EU) membership, Khan said that if Turkey joined the EU, it would be a bridge between Islam world and the EU.
Underlining the importance that the west and Islam world should understand each other better, Khan said that negative image towards Muslims in western countries should be changed.
Stating that they supported dialogue between civilizations, Khan noted that if Turkey, a secular country, joined the EU, western people would see that their point of view towards Muslims was wrong.
(EÖ-BRC) 29.08.2004