WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick has indicated that Turkey must look beyond the European Union, which is currently in a crisis, and be more close to the United States.
In a conference titled ''Turkey-U.S. relations'' and attended by the Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, Zoellick delivered a speech. It is highly important for Turkey to look beyond the EU and assume a global stance, said Zoellick. Robert Zoellick, the top deputy of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has remarked that the difficulties caused by the referenda on the EU Constitution will cause new development for candidate countries. This is the time when the Europeans must find a solution themselves and deal with the consequences and find out how they can re-start, told Zoellick.
Zoellick referred to Washington's support of Turkey in its EU bid and expressed that bilateral relations are extremely important and should not be limited by efforts to join the EU.
According to Zoellick, Turkey's ties with the EU are crucial. However, Turkey must pursue cooperation with not just the EU, but the U.S. as well since the U.S. is a global power,'' noted Zoellick.
Zoellick stressed that his administration wants to see Turkish-American relations in a frame bigger than the issue of Iraq. I believe that, after 5, 10 or 15 years, the U.S. and developed countries will continue to have the major development resources, he noted. Estimating that Europe and Japan will continue to be prominent but due to population and other reasons will not be able to play their previous roles, he said that China, India and Southeast Asia will become more important. Turkey, at the crossroads of Europe, Middle East and Asia, must establish solid ties with Europe and the U.S., he said, underlining that nonetheless, Turkey must have a 360 degree vision.
2005-06-08