GUL TO MERKEL: "TURKEY IS ALREADY A PRIVILEGED PARTNER FOR THE EU"
President Abdullah Gul yesterday received German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on an official visit, and her accompanying delegation at the Cankaya Presidential Palace in Ankara. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Chief Negotiator for EU Talks Egemen Bagis, and German State Minister for Migration, Refugees and Integration Maria Boehmer were also in attendance. During the meeting, Gul reportedly urged Merkel to understand Turkey's firm rejection of a "privileged partnership" proposal in lieu of its full EU membership bid. "Turkey's relations with the EU are already at the level of a privileged partnership," he said. "Our only goal in accession talks with the EU is full membership. Statements that hinder this process should be avoided." Gul called Turkey's EU accession process a full-fledged transformation process, saying that Turkey is striving to raise its standards to the highest level in this process. Asking for continued German support for Turkey's EU membership bid, Gul urged Merkel avoid discouraging statements. Dismissing unilateral pressure on Turkey over the Cyprus issue, Gul also urged Merkel to put more pressure on the Greek Cypriot administration to find a just and lasting solution to the issue. Gul and Merkel also discussed the integration problems of Turks living in Germany. Stating that Germany's Turkish population has made great progress in better integrating themselves into German society in recent years, Gul said they have made remarkable contributions to their host country. Merkel joined Gul in underlining these contributions. Reiterating her well-known stance on Turkey's EU accession bid, Merkel called the EU accession process "open ended" and that at the end of it Turkey could become a more "privileged partner" for the EU. Merkel yesterday also attended a dinner hosted in her honor by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking at the dinner, Erdogan called for the removal of visa requirements between Turkey and Germany, while Merkel responded that the countries could work together towards that end. /Sabah/
ERDOGAN WELCOMES MERKEL SUPPORTING FUTURE TURKISH SCHOOLS IN GERMANY
Speaking at a joint press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is paying an official visit to Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that he was pleased with Merkel's positive stance on opening Turkish schools in Germany in the future. Stating that education in German began in Turkey decades ago, Erdogan cited such schools as the German High School, Austrian High School and Istanbul High School for Boys. Erdogan's comments came after Merkel assured Turkey that similar arrangements would take place in Germany regarding schools that could provide education in Turkish. "We feel a distinct happiness when high-level visits take place between Turkey and Germany," he said. "We pay very great attention to boosting ties with Germany." He added, "As the prime ministers of two friendly and allied countries, we had a very fruitful meeting. We exchanged views on all regional and international issues concerning our two countries. We had a chance to discuss political, military, commercial, and cultural steps to develop mutual relations." Our relations are friendly and developing in all fields, and we discussed how to better them still, Erdogan said. "By taking advantage of deep historical relations between Turkey and Germany, Germany can be a role model to other EU members," he added. "I believe Parliament will approve tomorrow (Tuesday) the establishment of a Turkish-German University. We have finished preparations for the university to be established on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. I was very happy to hear from Ms. Merkel that Germany will take similar steps to provide Turkish lessons in similar structures in Germany (in the future)." /Hurriyet/
GERMAN CHANCELLOR MERKEL LAUDS GOVT REFORM PACKAGE
Accompanied by a large business delegation and Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration Maria Boehmer, German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Ankara yesterday for a two-day official visit at the invitation of her Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Before starting her talks with top Turkish officials, Merkel first visited Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Merkel and her delegation laid a wreath on Ataturk's tomb. Following a minute of silence, Merkel wrote in Anitkabir's memorial guestbook, "With all the respect due to the father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Germany will continue to accompany Turkey on its path to the future." During her visit, Chief Negotiator for European Union Talks Egemen Bagis accompanied Merkel and her delegation. Later Merkel had a closed-door meeting with Bagis at the German Embassy. Merkel reportedly praised the government's recently announced constitutional amendment package, calling it an encouraging step. Stating that reform efforts to make Turkey a more modern, democratic and civilian country deserve support, Merkel also shared their experience with such constitutional changes. For his part, Bagis reportedly reiterated Turkey's rejection of "privileged partnership" proposals in lieu of its EU accession bid, as there are no grounds for such a proposal in EU-related agreements. In response, Merkel complained about what she called some misconceptions in Turkey, saying that she was aware of Turkey's views on this. /Turkiye/
DISCUSSING TURKEY'S EU BID, MERKEL AND ERDOGAN REAFFIRM PRINCIPLE OF PACTA SUND SERVANDA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed his German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a two-day official visit to Turkey, with full military honors before the Prime Ministry building in Ankara. The two later had a meeting focused on bilateral relations and trade ties, Turkey's European Union accession process, the Cyprus issue and integration problems facing resident Turks in Germany, in addition to a number of issues of common concern such as peace and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Iran's controversial nuclear program. Speaking at a joint press conference afterwards, Merkel reiterated her country's support for what she called "open-ended" accession talks between Turkey and the EU. She said that they also reaffirmed their commitment to the principle of pacta sund servanda, or pacts must be respected. Merkel and French President Sarkozy have held out "privileged partnership" proposals to Turkey in lieu of full EU membership, something Turkey has firmly rejected, saying there is no option for its EU accession process besides full membership. Merkel said they suggested "privileged partnership" as a positive thing in line with Turkey's unique position in economic and cultural relations, even if this was not welcomed. "Turkey has a long history of relations with the EU," she said. "During this long period, much has changed in both Turkey and the EU. We're aware of the promises given to Turkey. Accession talks with Turkey are continuing and this is an open-ended process." She also underlined the importance of finding a solution to the Cyprus issue for further progress in accession talks, and urged Turkey to implement the Ankara Protocol by opening its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels. Merkel said they agreed in principle on the opening of Turkish schools in Germany, adding that this should not allow Turkish nationals in her country to not learn German. She said they don't want to assimilate Turks but to help them integrate into German society. Merkel also confirmed that Turkey and her country share a common goal to further advance bilateral relations. For his part, Erdogan said that they discussed ways to improve Turkish-German ties in various areas as well as Turkish citizens' adaptation to German society. "We shared ideas on the responsibility of both sides (Turkey and Germany) to make sure Turkish citizens can adapt to German society while preserving their own culture," he added. "We expect steps from Germany similar to those taken by Turkey in easing relations and playing a constructive role. I was deeply pleased to witness an identical approach from Ms. Merkel." Erdogan pointed out that Germany is one of Turkey's top trading partners, with a bilateral trade volume of over $20 billion. Erdogan said that they also took up Turkey's EU membership process, saying, "During Germany's term presidency, three chapters were opened for negotiations. Everyone knows how Germany supported Turkey opening the environment chapter in its EU accession talks." Erdogan also said the two countries are seeking to forge a strategic partnership. /Turkiye/
GUL SPEAKS WITH KARZAI AHEAD OF VISIT TO PAKISTAN
Reportedly speaking with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai before departing for Pakistan, President Abdullah Gul yesterday reiterated that Turkey will continue to support Afghanistan. Gul is scheduled to be in Pakistan for four days during which he will visit Lahore as well as Islamabad. Gul will meet with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as well as Pakistani Muslim League leader Nawaz Sharif. Gul will reportedly discuss issues such as economic cooperation, trade, energy investments, housing, transportation, tourism and defense industry projects as well as political relations. /Today's Zaman/
GERMAN GREENS' ROTH: "PRIVILEGED PARTNERSHIP PROPOSALS ARE A MISTAKE"
In an interview with Germany's ARD television, German Chancellery Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration Maria Boehmer yesterday said that the adaptation of newcomers to Germany shouldn't be assimilation, adding that more time could be spent teaching Turkish in German schools. In related news, Claudia Roth, the co-chair of Germany's Green Party, told German daily Die Welt that Chancellor Angela Merkel's "privileged partnership" proposal is a huge mistake and that democratization in Turkey could be accelerated by giving it a convincing membership perspective. /Star/
US SEC'Y OF STATE CLINTON TELEPHONES FM DAVUTOGLU
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday telephoned her Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss both bilateral relations and recent developments in Iraq. The main topic of the discussion was the Armenian "genocide" resolution which was recently passed by the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee. Davutoglu told Clinton why the Turkish public was disappointed by the vote. Davutoglu said that he expected the resolution not to reach the House floor for the sake of Turkish-Armenian and Armenian-Azeri peace efforts as well as Turkish-US relations. For her part, Clinton said that the Obama administration opposed the resolution reaching the House floor. She also underlined that they expect Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend an international nuclear safety summit in Washington next month. /Aksam/