GUL: "THE EU SHOULD HELP BALKAN COUNTRIES INTEGRATE INTO EURO-ATLANTIC BODIES"
Key actors of the Balkan region yesterday reaffirmed their joint political will to integrate into Euro-Atlantic bodies at the end of a three-day regional summit held by NATO member and European Union candidate Turkey in Istanbul. The European Union must avoid taking steps that hinder Balkan countries' integration process, President Abdullah Gul yesterday told a joint press conference with his Montenegrin and Serbian counterparts, held as part of the South-Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. Turkey and all the Balkan countries have a shared future in the European family, said Gul, adding that the Balkans have made rapid progress in their integration into Euro-Atlantic structures as well as the visa liberalization process, which is about to end with the liberalization for Albania and Bosnia expected by year's-end. "The goal for all of us is this: to take our place within European and Euro-Atlantic structures and strengthen common values across the entire region," he said. "In this regard, the EU and NATO dimension is very important in the Balkans." Full EU membership is the only end option for Turkey, as well as the other non-EU members in the Balkans, Gul said, adding that Europeans see diversity as a richness that promotes harmony among the people of the EU. He added that this also must be true for Southeastern European countries, and that this idea was one of the major focal points of the summit. He also said that there has been no shift in the axis of Turkey's foreign policy priorities, despite recent media allegations to the contrary. In his opening speech at the summit, Gul stressed the importance of including Kosovo in the process. "It is important to include Kosovo as part of the regional cooperation process," he said, adding that they have to wait until the legal processes for its independence are over. Though not mentioned in the summit's declaration approved by all the heads of state, the Kosovo issue was indirectly addressed in paragraph 34, which says, "We agreed on the importance of the consolidation of peace, security, stability and inclusiveness as a major contribution to the well-being of the entire region." Also addressing the summit, Serbian President Boris Tadic said that Turkey and the Balkans' shared history and cultural, musical and linguistic similarities have brought them closer together. Tadic stressed the importance of regional cooperation in key fields such as infrastructure and energy. "We must work together to improve our infrastructure and implement common energy projects," he said, adding that Serbia and Turkey have a common vision for their foreign policy of "zero problems" with their neighbors. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said all the countries in the region must cooperate more in research and development, innovation, and new technologies. Stronger cooperation in these areas will bring more prosperity and boost people's standards of living, he added. At the end of the summit, Turkey handed over the SEECP's presidency to Montenegro, with Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic pledging that his country would strive to improve the process, as well as remain fully committed to strengthening its administrative capacity to prove itself a reliable partner in the process. /Hurriyet Daily News, Today's Zaman/
ERDOGAN URGES FIRM EUROPEAN COOPERATION AGAINST TERRORIST PKK
In the wake of a string of deadly terrorist attacks in recent days, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdodan yesterday strongly criticized European countries that tacitly support the terrorist PKK or fail to take the necessary measures to prevent it from working on their soil. Speaking before a luncheon Erdogan hosted for the heads of delegations at the South-Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said PKK activities that target innocent civilians as well as security forces in Turkey equally threaten the people of the Balkans and the rest of Europe. "Certain European countries have long refrained from lending the required support to Turkey in its fight against terrorism," he said. "Despite all the suffering and bloody attacks on civilians and security forces, there are still countries that have not ceased financially supporting the PKK, so turning a blind eye to its activities and propaganda. These countries fail to extradite PKK criminals to Turkey and do not fight crime." Turkey has been fighting the terrorist group, based in northern Iraq, for over a quarter-century, he said, adding that the group recently stepped up its attacks to destabilize Turkey and destroy social peace but that it is bound to fail in this. "When it sees that it can't win this war, it goes down its well-worn path of harming civilians and security forces while sending its own men to certain death," Erdogan said, stressing that the terrorist group neither serves its self-proclaimed aims nor the interests of people in southeastern Turkey which it claims to fight for. Erdogan was particularly firm in his criticism of the European countries he accused of backing the terrorist group. "The terrorist organization poses as serious a threat to people living in the Balkans and European countries as it does in Turkey, where it targets innocent civilians and security forces," he said. "The PKK, a terrorist group involved in organized crime, targets the youth of countries in the Balkans and Europe and poisons them with drugs." /Today's Zaman/
EU SEEKS ROBUST FOREIGN POLICY COORDINATION WITH TURKEY
Turkey places great importance on synchronizing its foreign policy moves with those of the European Union, said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday. Meeting with EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule in Istanbul on the sidelines of the South-Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit, Davutoglu said, "The EU seeks stronger coordination between Turkey's rising foreign policy activity and the Union's common foreign policy perspective, something highly valued by Turkey as well." He added that EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton will soon visit Turkey. Stating that he and Fule had discussed recent developments in Turkey's EU accession process, Davutoglu said there could be important developments later this year on visa exemptions for Turkish nationals traveling to EU countries. For his part, Fule said so-called "privileged partnership" proposals for Turkey in lieu of full EU membership are out of the question. "We stand by our promise that we gave Turkey in 2005" when it started accession talks, he said, expressing his hope that negotiation chapter on food security will be opened soon. Fule also stressed that the EU will continue to support Turkey's fight against terrorism. In related news, in the declaration released at the end of SEECP summit, participating countries strongly condemned the terrorist PKK and expressed their condolences to the Turkish government and people for their casualties in a series of PKK attacks since last weekend. /Sabah/
CALLING THE PKK A COMMON ENEMY, US AMBASSADOR PLEDGES CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR TURKEY'S ANTI-TERROR EFFORTS
US Ambassador James Jeffrey yesterday paid a courtesy visit to the new leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at CHP headquarters in Ankara. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Jeffrey said they had a frank discussion about US-Turkish relations. Expressing his condolences for the loss of life in recent terrorist PKK attacks, Jeffrey stressed that his country considers the PKK as a common enemy. Stating that US-Turkish intelligence-sharing regarding the terrorist group continues, Jeffrey called the PKK a threat to the stability of the region. "We stand with Turkey. This is a painful issue that we are following closely," Jeffrey said. Asked about allegations of declining intelligence-sharing on the PKK between the US and Turkey, Jeffrey denied this, said his country is continuing to support's Turkey fight against the terrorist group however it can. "We're sharing every kind of intelligence with Turkey," he added. /Turkiye/
SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN NATIONS DEMAND IMPARTIAL INTL PROBE OF ISRAELI SHIP RAID
Turkey and 11 other Southeastern European nations denounced Israel yesterday for its deadly raid last month of a Gaza-bound aid convoy and demanded an international investigation into the attack, which killed nine Turks. "We emphasize our interest in an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation into this matter," said the Istanbul Declaration, released at the end of the three-day summit of the South-Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Istanbul. Israel has dismissed calls for an international probe and initiated an internal probe instead. "Reaffirming our commitment to international law, we stress the urgent need for alleviation of the humanitarian situation in Gaza," said the declaration. "In this context, we expect that announcements by the government of Israel will be quickly followed by concrete measures with an immediate positive impact on the lives of the people of Gaza. We deplore the loss of life and injuries during the incident in the international waters of the Eastern Mediterranean." /Today's Zaman/
US UNDERSEC'Y OF STATE: "THE TEHRAN AGREEMENT IS STILL ON THE TABLE"
The Tehran nuclear materiel swap deal mediated by Turkey and Brazil is still on the table as a possible solution to the Iranian nuclear problem, said a senior US diplomat yesterday. Testifying on Iran before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns told senators that alternative arrangements such as the recent nuclear swap deal could possibly still help resolve the standoff with Iran. /Cumhuriyet/
SPANISH PM ZAPATERO: "THE EU COULD OPEN A NEW CHAPTER WITH TURKEY NEXT WEEK"
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the prime minister of outgoing European Union President Spain, yesterday said that a new chapter in Turkey's EU negotiations could be opened next week, before Spain hands over the term presidency to Belgium on July 1. Speaking to the European Parliament, Zapatero reiterated Spain's support for Turkey's EU accession bid, saying that a new chapter could be opened with Turkey before next Thursday. /Aksam/