ERDOGAN MEETS WITH FRENCH OFFICIALS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday began contacts in France as part of his three-day visit to the country. Appearing on TV station France 3, Erdogan said that he had difficulty understanding the French public’s hesitation at welcoming Turkey’s European Union membership. Stressing that Ankara had enacted important reforms to harmonize to the Copenhagen criteria and taken steps for their implementation, Erdogan said he expected that the EU would recognize those efforts and open its door to Turkey. The Turkish premier then met with French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. During their meeting, Sarkozy reportedly told Erdogan that President Jacques Chirac would have the final word on Turkey beginning accession talks. “Chirac has already made his decision,” added Sarkozy. That statement was interpreted as a positive sign of France’s stance on the matter. Following the meeting, Erdogan, accompanied by State Minister Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun, visited Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral. Addressing a meeting of France’s International Affairs Institute, Erdogan said that even during its most trying periods, Turkey had never lost its perspective on unifying with the EU, adding that at the December EU summit, Ankara expected a date to soon begin talks with the Union. /Turkiye/

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: “IF TURKEY IMPLEMENTS THE EU’S CRITERIA, IT CAN BE A MEMBER”
Speaking at a conference at Israel’s Tel-Aviv University yesterday, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said that Turkey’s majority-Muslim population was not an obstacle to its joining the European Union. Underlining that the EU was not a religious club, Barnier said, “Turkey is a secular nation. Religion is not a criterion for the EU. We have other criteria. If Ankara implements them, Turkey can become an EU member.” Asked about Israel’s possibly joining the EU, the French minister said, “Enlargement will continue.” Commenting on the controversial wall Israel is building in the West Bank, Barnier charged that it was a violation of international law. /Turkiye/

GUL: “TURKEY’S PATH TO THE EU SHOULD BE CLEAR”
Turkey’s path to the European Union should be clear, said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday at a gathering of Europe’s parliamentary Greens in Istanbul. Gul said that Turkey’s EU integration process was progressing steadily toward the target of full membership. “The decision made at the Dec. 17 EU summit will be critical for setting the path of the Turkish-EU integration process,” added Gul. /Hurriyet/

LAGENDIJK: “EUROPE’S DEFINITION OF MINORITY DIFFERS FROM TURKEY’S”
Europe’s definition of minority is different from Turkey’s, Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the Turkey-European Union Joint Parliament Commission, said yesterday. Stating that there can be discussions between Turkey and the EU about the subject, Lagendijk said that whether Turkey implements the EU’s definition would be seen in five or six years. Lagendijk also said that he also wasn’t satisfied with the expression “open ended” in the recent EU commission report on Turkey. “This won’t influence the decision to be taken on Dec. 17,” added Lagendijk, referring to the upcoming EU summit. “The decision will be positive.” /Hurriyet/

FISCHER, REHN WEIGH IN FOR TURKEY’S EU BID
Addressing a three-day parliamentary meeting of Europe’s Greens in Istanbul yesterday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer predicted that those who oppose Turkey’s European Union membership today would later see the futility of their position. “They will regret opposing Turkey’s EU bid,” said Fischer, adding that he would do his best to promote Ankara’s bid. He further called on the European Union Commission to set a date at the December EU summit to begin Ankara’s accession talks. Also addressing the gathering, incoming EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn praised Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. “In my country, Ataturk is known as a symbol of Turkey’s modernization,” he said. Rehn also praised the nation’s recent EU reforms, adding that its EU goal was meaningful and that membership would be beneficial for Turkey and the Union both. However Rehn predicted that Ankara’s accession talks could last for a decade and be difficult and complex. /Milliyet/

TRNC GOVERNMENT RESIGNS
The government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) resigned yesterday. President Rauf Denktas accepted the nine-month long Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Democratic Party (DP) coalition government’s resignation, and is set to meet with former Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu today to appoint him to form a new government. Eroglu will then be able to attempt the formation of a new coalition government among the parties in the 50-seat Parliament. “There will be efforts aimed at creating a majority government, but we think this may not be quite possible,” Serdar Denktas, chairman of the coalition’s junior partner, the DP, said yesterday. “Therefore it looks more likely that there will be early elections by the end of January.” The TRNC Constitution stipulates the holding of early elections if a new government cannot be formed in 60 days. The resigned government, chaired by Mehmet Ali Talat, will remain on duty up to the establishment of a new one. /Turkiye/

EDELMAN: “SOME KURDISH GROUPS ARE TRYING TO ALTER KIRKUK’S DEMOGRAPHIC MAKEUP THROUGH FORCE”
Eric Edelman, US ambassador to Turkey, yesterday charged that some Kurdish groups were using force to try to alter the demographic structure of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, adding that the US was opposed to this. Speaking at Erciyes University, Edelman said that Ankara, Washington and Iraq’s interim government were all proceeding carefully on the issue of Kirkuk, adding that they favored the country’s territorial integrity. “Decisions on the city’s future will be made transparently,” added Edelman. /Cumhuriyet/

NSC TO CONVENE NEXT WEEK
The Natiomal Security Council (NSC) will convene on next Wednesday, a meeting delayed by two days due to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to France. Erdogan is expected to brief the gathering on his Tuesday meeting with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. /Milliyet/

TURKEY TO TAKE OVER ISAF COMMAND NEXT FEBRUARY
NATO sources said yesterday that next February Turkey would take over the command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for six or eight months. Following Turkey’s commandership, Italy, Britain and Spain are expected to command ISAF, which was established to support the interim government in Kabul following the collapse of the Taliban regime. /Aksam/