BRUSSELS (AA) - ''Maybe we can go to Northern Cyprus one day, and invite (Greek Cypriot leader Tassos) Papadopoulos. We can have a coffee of peace and meal of peace there,'' Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
Erdogan, who chatted with representatives of Turkish newspapers and television channels in Belgian capital of Brussels, said heads of state and government of European Union (EU) member states had started to arrive in Brussels.
PM Erdogan said, ''we won't attend the summit today. 25 member countries will hold the summit among themselves, and they will have dinner this evening.''
Noting that some topics would start to be clarified during the dinner, Erdogan said that deliberations would continue all night.
-ERDOGAN'S MEETINGS WITH LEADERS-
Erdogan said that most of the EU leaders had a positive approach towards Turkey's sensitivities, but all matters had not been settled yet.
''Not only our friends at the Foreign Ministry, but also Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul continue their deliberations on these unsettled matters with the foreign ministers and prime ministers (of EU member states). We will meet some prime ministers and heads of state today. We also get appointment from some others (some other officials). We will meet Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt some time later, and have luncheon. He had a luncheon with (French President Jacques) Chirac yesterday, and we gave them some topics. I met him here last week. Also, Abdullah Gul met Verhofstadt. We conveyed our demands to him in written,'' Erdogan said.
Noting that he would also meet his Greek counterpart Costas Caramanlis later today, Erdogan said he talked to Caramanlis by phone last night (Wednesday night), and noted that Caramanlis suggested that they should meet after luncheon.
Erdogan stated that he would meet German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder before dinner, and efforts were under way to also meet Chirac before dinner.
PM Erdogan said that he would also meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, and stated that Blair was one of the leaders who could understand Turkey's sensitivities.
-THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY ELASTICITY, EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CLEAR-
Pointing out that British Secretary of Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw had asked to meet him, Erdogan said that Cyprus, permanent derogation, and how ''open-ended negotiations'' were defined were Turkey's sensitivities.
''There should not be elasticity, everything should be clear,'' he said.
Erdogan stated that the decision to open full membership negotiations with Turkey should not be left to a second meeting, and some other conditions except Copenhagen political criteria, like Cyprus and border issues, should not be imposed before Turkey's membership.
PM Erdogan recalled that he briefed ambassadors of EU member states on all those matters during their meeting in Ankara, and asked the ambassadors to inform their leaders about those issues.
''I think developments regarding Cyprus issue can become clear after my meeting with Caramanlis,'' Erdogan said.
Answering a question, Erdogan said that the EU did not exert any efforts to end isolation of Turkish Cypriots, and noted that Turkey will assume a positive approach if the United Nations (UN) launches initiatives to solve the Cyprus problem.
Erdogan went on saying, ''I should frankly say that, maybe we can go to Northern Cyprus one day, and invite Papadopoulos. We can have a coffee of peace and meal of peace there. Because, our motto is to gain friends, not enemies. But, we should also see the same approach from the other side. We will do anything if we see the same approach. Progress we have made with the countries in the west, north, south and east of Turkey, with which we didn't have contacts in the past, is a clear evidence of this. And, the progress we have made with Greece is another open evidence. South Cyprus gained what it expected on May 1st.''
-WE CAN DO WHAT NORWAY DID-
Noting that negotiations could be cut when the process continued, Erdogan said, ''if we see that progress we want can't be made and if we think they are playing with time, we will stand on our feet and do what Norway did; that is, we can quit. What we want is to walk on this road without any discrimination. It seems that there is one-sided approach here; that is, they say that Turkey will make EU pay a big price when it joins the Union. Nobody is talking about possible contributions Turkey will make. Turkey is already contributing to the Union. Turkey is closing a serious foreign trade deficit of EU.''
PM Erdogan stated that Turkey would continue to do what was necessary till it became a full member.
-''ARMENIAN GENOCIDE''-
Answering a question on so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan said that he did not see any difference between the expressions ''Armenian genocide'' and ''the so-called Armenian genocide'', and both were expressions which can be maneuvered. Erdogan said that what happened in the past should be left in the past, and added, ''history should not incite our hatred. If we are to build a new world, we should settle this world on peace. This is our main understanding.''
(BRC-A֩
2004-12-16