Erdogan: We Have At Least Fifty Percent Chance To Win A Date

COPENHAGEN/ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late on Sunday that he supposed Turkey had at least fifty percent chance of winning a date for opening of accession talks at Copenhagen summit.
Erdogan answered questions of reporters during his flight to Danish capital Copenhagen where he will hold contacts about Turkey's European Union (EU) membership.
Noting that Turkey was playing all its trump cards to win a date, Erdogan recalled that it had been mentioned that Turkey might win a date in 2004 or 2005.
Stressing that they would continue their contacts till the end, Erdogan said that EU term president Denmark would not express its opinion about Turkey's membership until the last minute either.
Recalling that the letter about Turkey's commitments had been sent to the EU Term Presidency, Erdogan said that Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and he would negotiate the letter in question during their meeting on Monday.
Replying a question, Erdogan said that constitutional changes and laws adjustment packages would be taken up by the relevant parliamentary commissions on Monday.
''The important thing is adoption of these packages by the parliament. And the next step is implementation,'' he said.
Noting that they would do their best until December 12, Erdogan said, ''at least, we will transfer these to the parliament. We will try to rapidly adopt them. We will remove deficiencies after December 12. The most important thing they concern is the disruptions in implementation.''
Responding another question, Erdogan said he supposed that Turkey had at least fifty percent chance of winning a date for opening of accession talks at Copenhagen summit.
When asked whether or not this rate would increase after his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, Erdogan said, ''maybe.''
Stressing that he would not be disappointed if the EU would not set a date for Turkey at Copenhagen, Erdogan said, ''Turkey is a great country. There is not a necessity for disappointment. Because, the EU won't give our bread. Our target is to increase national income per person to five thousand dollars within five years. It is enough if we achieve this.''
Replying a question, Erdogan said that the German and French ambassadors had been invited to the Prime Ministry two days ago and they had been told that a date should be given to Turkey as of end of 2003.
Responding a question about Cyprus, Erdogan said that in his statements, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas did not criticize the United Nations but he criticized Greek Cypriot administration leader Glafcos Clerides.
Recalling that he would have a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan during his visit to the United States, Erdogan said that it was wrong to show Cyprus as a trump card in return for EU membership.
Erdogan said that in the meeting he would have with U.S. President Bush, their priority would be Turkey's EU membership and that the United States would most probably express its opinions about Iraq.
Erdogan said that they would express their opinions if they received request for use of military bases and they would discuss all issues.
Responding another question, Erdogan said that most of the Islamic countries were in favor of Turkey's EU membership.
AK PARTY LEADER ERDOGAN DUE IN UNITED STATES
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will start his tour to the United States today.
Erdogan is expected to proceed to Washington from Copenhagen on Monday evening, and deliver a speech in Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Erdogan, who will hold his important meetings on Tuesday, will first of all meet the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Bush's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Erdogan will meet the U.S. President George Bush at 20.00 local time on Tuesday and later U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Washington D.C.
Erdogan is also expected to receive the representatives of the Jewish lobby in the U.S. and come together with the Turkish-American Council officials.
Later, Erdogan will proceed to New York and meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan there to discuss Cyprus.
Erdogan will also address Turkish community in New York.
AK Party leader Erdogan is expected to leave for Copenhagen after completing his contacts in the United States.
Iraq, Turkey's EU process and improvement of Turkish-U.S. economic relations are expected to take place in Erdogan's agenda in Washington.