ISTANBUL - ''Greek Cypriot side's inclusion in Customs Union Agreement is completely a legal issue,'' said Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Sunday.
Gul added, ''with this decision, goods of Greek Cypriots will enter Turkey as duty-free and also all Turkish goods will be brought into Greek Cypriot side similarly. You should also consider whose economy is stronger and who sells goods more.''
Gul hosted a dinner for academicians, scientists and media members who attended International Symposium on ''Civilization and Harmony: Values and Mechanisms of the Global Order'' in Istanbul.
Gul replied questions of reporters. When asked, ''is there a connection between inclusion of Greek Cypriot side in Customs Union and cancellation of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)-European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers Meeting Joint Forum? What is your assessment?'' Gul said, ''these are two separate issues.''
''One of is completely a legal issue on which we have made commitments and which we have to fulfill legally. On the other hand, the Forum is a political issue. We have showed that we did not mix political and legal issues. We have fulfilled our responsibility as we have committed the legal issue. We organized the forum as the EU asked for us to do. The forum was a good opportunity for the EU,'' added Gul.
(GC-AÖ) 04.10.2004