TURKEY, SYRIA SIGN AGREEMENTS TO DEEPEN BILATERAL TIES TOWARDS ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday began his official talks in Syria after a welcoming ceremony in the capital Damascus. Erdogan met with his Syrian counterpart Muhammad Naji al-Otri after the ceremony, and the two later co-chaired the first prime ministerial-level meeting of the Turkey-Syria High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. A number of Cabinet ministers also attended, including Interior Minister Besir Atalay and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and their Syrian counterparts. Syrian President Bashar Assad also attended the landmark gathering. "Turkey sees Syria as a gateway to the Middle Eastern markets of 320 million people," Erdogan told the meeting. "Turkish banks can open branches in Syria, giving a significant momentum to bilateral trade." He also said Turkey could contribute to Syria in the construction of Latakia airport and privatization bids. On the Middle East peace process, Erdogan said regional peace could be established on firm foundations when Turkey and Syria work hand-in-hand, and thanked Assad for supporting Turkey's mediation between Syria and Israel, which was halted early this year due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Also speaking at the meeting, al-Otri said that Turkey and Syria could cooperate in many areas. Stating that region faces many economic and political challenges, al-Otri expressed support for Turkey's efforts to solve regional conflicts through diplomacy and peaceful means. Accusing Israel of unwillingness to continue peace talks, he underlined Turkey's role as a mediator. "This is essential, and peace can only be ensured thanks to this role," he said. Following the meeting, 51 official documents were signed in various areas, with an eye to deepening bilateral ties and economic integration between the two countries. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Erdogan said, "We can consider today's meeting the first milestone on a long road. We can cooperate in such areas as transportation, the economy, commerce, security, local administrations, energy, water, environment, culture, education and urban transformation." Erdogan said that the agreements must be implemented for the good of future generations. For his part, al-Otri said the meeting had been fruitful. "Our goal is to contribute to the economies of our countries," he said. Al-Otri also hosted a luncheon in Erdogan's honor. /Turkiye/
ERDOGAN: "TURKEY IS READY TO MEDIATE ISRAELI-SYRIAN PEACE TALKS"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday reiterated Turkey's readiness to resume mediating indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria if it is asked. After meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, as part of an official visit, Erdogan told reporters, "Turkey will do what it has to do if a new peace process is launched. We are ready to re-engage if we are called to this duty." Erdogan said while Syria favors Turkey's mediation, Israel doesn't currently want Ankara's involvement and is seeking French mediation instead. "Our Syrian brothers have agreed to Turkey's mediation, but Israel doesn't favor it. And we can't push this unless Israel agrees too," Erdogan said. Turkey last year mediated five rounds of indirect talks before they collapsed following the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Erdogan has publicly criticized Israeli aggression against Palestine. For his part, Assad criticized Israeli criticisms that Turkey acted subjectively in its mediation of the talks last year. "Turkey's attitude was objective, and this is what Israel disliked," he said. Turkey has made great efforts for peace in the Middle East, Assad said. "Turkey is one of the giant actors that plays a role for peace in the Middle East," he said. Turkey and Syria do want peace in the Middle East, but the process has ups and downs, Assad said. "Everyone is aware of Turkey's attitude on Gaza," he added. "Everyone wants to see an end to the embargo on Gaza. A Turkish convoy passed through Syria and carried humanitarian assistance to Gaza. I thank the Turkish people for their generosity." Touching on the agreements signed by Turkey and Syria during Erdogan's visit, Asad said that the deals place great responsibility on the two countries. Businesspeople of both countries have an important role to play, he added. Asked whether efforts against the terrorist PKK had been brought up during bilateral talks, the two leaders said they had but did not elaborate. Sabah/
BAGIS TOUTS TURKEY'S NEW EU PUSH
Chief European Union talks Negotiator Egemen Bagis yesterday outlined Turkey's new efforts to target EU membership with domestic and international initiatives, including plans to promote EU values at home. "Sometimes the EU train slows down, sometimes it picks up speed, but I'm confident Turkey will complete what it needs to complete in a reasonable period of time," he told a group of influential journalists. Bagis spoke about Turkey's many frustrations and challenges, including continued blocking of the opening of accession negotiation chapters, covering various policy reforms Turkey must complete to bring its laws and regulations into harmony with EU norms. Greek Cyprus and France have taken the lead in stalling the negotiations process. A central stumbling block is Turkey's refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels, a step Turkey has said is contingent on the EU keeping its promises to ease the economic isolation of Northern Cyprus. There are problems, Bagis admitted, but said spats between the bloc and Turkey should not be allowed to overshadow the many successes this year and the opportunity for many more in 2010. Rather than "keep score by chapter openings or closings, we should keep score by the reforms we accomplish that bring us closer to the European Union," he said. "This year, Turkey unveiled its national program of proposed reforms in accordance with EU guidelines. Steps hailed in the European bloc included the launch of Kurdish-language broadcasts on state television. And the EU's annual progress report issued in October was probably the most positive ever.." He added, "Compared with past reports, this year's was much more balanced and reasonable." Bagis also underscored important changes within the EU itself that add momentum to Turkey's membership drive, including ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon. As the EU takes steps to become more of a global player, "the importance of Turkey to the EU grows every day," Bagis said. To boost domestic understanding and strengthen Turkey's position toward the EU, Bagis unveiled a host of locally focused initiatives, including an Interior Ministry plan to appoint a deputy governor for EU affairs in each of the country's 81 provinces. He also spoke of the creation of a panel of EU communications-strategy volunteers, made up of retired diplomats, students, academics and others, to explain and promote EU values at home. Another step will be the creation of a new Interior Ministry agency to boost border security and combat smuggling, drug trafficking, terror and other woes that affect the EU. Among the most important reforms pending in 2010 is the preparation of a long-delayed new constitution for Turkey. Bagis called on all political parties to submit drafts of the constitutional reforms they envision early next year so Parliament can begin working on a consensus document acceptable to all parties. /Hurriyet Daily News/
PM AGAIN REJECTS CLAIMS OF AXIS SHIFT IN TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY
Turkey doesn't choose its foreign policy path according to outside directives but in line with its own interests, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. Speaking at a Turkey-Syria Business Council meeting in Damascus as part of his official visit to Syria, Erdogan again rejected claims of an axis shift in Turkish foreign policy, saying that Turkey will not give up its policy of fostering friendly ties with neighboring countries such as Syria just because some see this as part of a shift from the West to the East. "Not only are we abolishing visas, we will remove other obstacles, too," he said. "We will sign partnerships which could be a model for the world. We have this potential." Erdodan told the gathering he wants to expand the Turkish-Syrian partnership to the entire region. "Everyone is free to say whatever they want," he said. "But I find these arguments (of an axis shift) ill intentioned. The rapprochement between Turkey and Syria is actually the normalization of bilateral relations. What is wrong is not today's rapprochement, but rather yesterday's distance and the visa issue." He added, "Development and prosperity in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and other regional countries means nothing on their own. Because we live in a common region. Besides, we have nations that are relatives with each other." Stating that Turkey wants peace, prosperity, stability and security in the region, Erdogan said businesspeople seeking investments in other countries look for stability and confidence. "We have to establish an atmosphere of prosperity, peace, security and stability on the regional scale, not in individual countries," he said. "So we can't neglect the problems of Syria, Iraq or Lebanon. Their problems affect us too." Erdogan said countries should act with solidarity and cooperate more in order to reach such goals. On economic relations, Erdogan said he was pleased to see "excitement" between Turkey and Syria, adding that their steps would influence other countries in the region. Erdogan said Turkey is Syria's gateway to the Black Sea, the Caucasus and Europe, while Syria is Turkey's gateway to the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region. Erdogan also said that their bilateral trade volume, which stood at $2 billion last year, should be raised to $5 billion in the next three to four years. "We have the political will to do that. Hopefully, we will succeed," he said. "Turkish and Syrian businessmen can invest in third countries by establishing joint companies." Erdogan also touted his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) economic performance over the last seven years, as it nearly tripled the country's gross domestic product from $230 billion to $742 billion. /Star/
TURKEY EXPECTS TO SECURE OIL FOR NEW PIPELINE
Turkey sees Russian, Kazakh and Turkmen oil filling most of a planned $4 billion pipeline from its Black Sea coast to the Mediterranean port at Ceyhan, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday. Turkey also expects to sign an agreement with the Azerbaijani government on procuring extra natural gas, Yildiz said. A disagreement about pricing and diplomatic wrangling over Armenia has held up the deal. Calik Group of Turkey and Eni, Italy's biggest energy company, are joint partners in the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline that aims to deliver Caspian fuel from the northern city of Samsun to Ceyhan, terminus for two other oil pipelines, while bypassing Istanbul's congested Bosporus channel. Russian companies may take a stake in the project, pipeline operator Transneft said last week. State-run Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, agreed in October to supply the pipeline with its own crude. "After the Russian initiatives to secure oil for the pipeline, we expect fuel to be procured from Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan," Yildiz said. "There are many reasons to back this pipeline politically," he said. "It has strategic importance and will contribute to Turkey becoming a petroleum and natural gas corridor." The 550-km pipeline is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day. /Today's Zaman/
ISTANBUL TO EMERGE AS FASHION CENTER WHERE EAST MEETS WEST
As consumption shifted from the Western world to the East with the recent global financial crisis, Istanbul became the meeting point of the two, especially in the textile and ready-to-wear sectors, CNR Holding sales coordinator Selcuk Icinsel has said. Delivering a speech at a press conference organized to promote the 15th Ystanbul Fashion Fair, which is scheduled to be held at the CNR Expo Center on Jan. 24-26, Icinsel said 125 companies from around the world are expected to participate in the fair. "Since the last fair (held on Aug. 28-30) coincided with the closing of the summer season, the number of companies that attended was very low; however, this time we are expecting a very high figure," he said, adding that he is very optimistic about the fair and that he expects it to attract some 30,000 visitors. The fair will be visited by delegations of 125 purchase specialists from Greece and Bulgaria, respectively, along with 10 purchase specialists each from Jordanian and Romanian textile and ready-to-wear associations. Moreover, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce expected to attend the fair with a group of eight buyers as will Russia's Krasnodar Chamber of Commerce. Other countries that will be represented by companies at the fair are China, Egypt, France, Germany, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UAE, the UK and the US. Icinsel also drew attention to the attendance of Saudi House, one of Saudi Arabia's leading department stores, at the fair, stressing that this will be the first time a Saudi company attends. /Today's Zaman/
PETER JACKSON PLANS TO MAKE MOVIE ABOUT BATTLE OF GALLIPOLI
Oscar-winning movie-maker and director of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy Peter Jackson plans to make a film about the Battle of Gallipoli (Çanakkale Sava_lary in Turkish), which took place in 1915 during World War I, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Speaking on a television show on Australia's ABC channel on Dec. 11, Jackson said he is thinking of making a movie about the Battle of Gallipoli. Having said in his biography that he wanted to make a Gallipoli movie from a New Zealand perspective such as Peter Weir's 1981 film "Gallipoli," the well-known director said he now plans to make a more balanced movie. Explaining that his grandfather even won a distinguished conduct medal at Gallipoli, Jackson noted that he visited Gallipoli in 1990 for the 75th year anniversary of the battle. /Today's Zaman/
TURKEY LAUNCHES BID TO HOST EURO 2016
Turkey yesterday officially launched its campaign to host the 2016 European Football Championships with a ceremony in Istanbul. If Turkey is picked to host Europe's largest football event, nine stadiums in eight cities in Turkey will host Euro 2016 matches, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced. Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium, which will be renovated, and Galatasaray's Turk Telekom Arena, expected to open next September, would be used. New stadiums would be built in six cities: Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Konya, Antalya and Eskisehir. Kayseri's Kadir Has Stadium would be another venue. Officials said major infrastructure investments are planned for the host cities, especially in public transportation and accommodation. They also unveiled the logo for the bid, featuring a football in a tulip figure with eight colors representing the eight cities. Turkey is competing with France and Italy to host Euro 2016, and the winner will be chosen next May. If Turkey is given the right to host the tournament, over 4,000 million euros will be invested in stadiums, _1 billion will be spent on building and developing tourism facilities, and _250 million will be spent on promotion and advertisements. /Huriyet Daily News/