E.U. Foreign Policy Chief Solana In Ankara

ANKARA - European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana came to Ankara on Thursday for a one-day visit.
Solana told reporters that he came to Turkey upon the invitation of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Contacts between Turkey and EU were of importance, Solana said.
Solana noted that he would exchange views about Turkey-EU relations, recent developments in Turkey and especially Turkey's role in European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP).
Asked if he could see a solution about ESDP, Solana said that they were close to a solution on many issues, not only ESDP.
Responding to a question if a solution could be reached on ESDP without a definiteness in Cyprus process, Solana said that everything was possible as long as there was political will.
He noted that they had political will and hoped that Turkey would also show a similar will.
When he was reminded that he was paying a visit to Ankara before the new government was formed, Solana reiterated that he came to Turkey upon the invitation of Erdogan and that this would neither be the first nor the last visit of the EU.
Solana, who will meet with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal at a working lunch, will later have a meeting with Erdogan.
ESDP is the top issue on the agenda of meetings of Solana who will leave Ankara after a press conference in which he will evaluate his contacts. Solana will get Ankara's opinions prior to the NATO summit in Prague, Czech Republic on November 21-22.
At the Brussels summit, the EU took new decisions on the ESDP issue under those decisions, it was mentioned that ESDP would not be used against any NATO member and in return, the NATO could not be used against any EU member and it was stressed that any operation against the U.N. convention rules would not be carried out.
At the Copenhagen meeting with candidate countries that was held shortly after the Brussels summit, Solana said that he hoped that serious politicians in Turkey would take the Brussels proposal into consideration and that if it was seen necessary, he would go to Turkey to meet with the Turkish officials.
Meanwhile, Turkey takes the Ankara Document it prepared together with the United States and Britain as basis.
Releasing a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the Ankara Document reflected at optimum the conditions that Turkey could accept about the issue.
Meanwhile, Solana is expected to discuss also the U.N.'s Cyprus plan during his contacts in Ankara.