ANKARA - ''Choosing a chief negotiator for EU entry talks is not so important. Chief negotiator will be announced when the time has come,'' said Turkish Justice Minister & Government spokesman Cemil Cicek.
Cicek informed press members about today's Council of Ministers meeting.
When asked whether the chief negotiator and negotiation delegation will be announced this week and whether a timetable is set about this issue, Cicek said, ''it will be announced when its time has come. This is not an issue which has a priority for us.''
When reminded of the criticisms about delay in choosing the chief negotiator, Cicek said, ''it is the last issue for us to consider.''
''We are working on these issues. There are documents which the EU should send to Turkey. These documents are not related with choosing a chief negotiator,'' he added.
''Turkish Foreign Ministry and Turkish Secretariat General for the EU pursue meetings about this issue at the moment. Each ministry fulfills its responsibility about the issue,'' he noted.
Cicek said, ''thus, Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs & Immigration Nicolas Schmit of Luxembourg holding the rotating EU presidency met Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Troika meeting will be held in coming days. Meetings will be held in Brussels tomorrow. Negotiations continue. These are all parts of EU issue.''
When asked whether there is a problem regarding the chief negotiator, Cicek replied that there is no problem.