ANKARA - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul met on Wednesday with French Ambassador to Turkey Bernard Garcia.
Gul had summoned German Ambassador to Turkey Rudolf Schmidt and French Ambassador to Turkey Bernard Garcia to the Prime Ministry and asked them to convey Turkey's initiatives on the road to the European Union (EU) to French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder prior to their meeting to take place later in the day.
GUL TELLS GERMAN AND FRENCH AMBASSADORS THAT TURKEY WILL NOT BE AS MUCH WILLING AND EXCITED ABOUT EU IF IT IS NOT GIVEN SATISFACTORY DEFINITE DATE
Prime Minister Abdullah Gul gave on Wednesday the message to German Ambassador to Turkey Rudolf Schmidt and French Ambassador to Turkey Bernard Garcia that Turkey would not be as much willing and excited about the European Union (EU) if it was not given a satisfactory definite date and kept waiting in Copenhagen.
Sources said that Gul, during his meeting with Garcia, said that Turkish people and government would be disappointed if they were not given a date to open accession negotiations at Copenhagen summit.
Gul said, ''please be sure that the EU, which does not give us a date with 15 countries, cannot make it with 25 countries.''
Prime Minister Gul explained two reform packages covering adjustments to the EU to Garcia and said that there were nothing to be said to Turkey related with Copenhagen criteria.
Gul gave the message to two ambassadors that ''they should know that Turkey would not be as much willing and excited about the EU if it was not given a satisfactory definite date and kept waiting in Copenhagen.''
Prime Minister Gul asked the two ambassadors to convey this message to French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.