GUL: “OUR PACE OF REFORMS CANNOT BE HALTED”

Turkiye, Turkey
May 20 2004

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul attended the Turkey-European Union
Partnership Council meeting in Brussels over the weekend. Addressing
the gathering, Gul told those assembled that through its recent
reforms, Ankara had all but fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria.
Reiterating Ankara’s determination for EU membership, Gul said, “We
won’t tolerate those who try to hold back reform.” In related news,
Gul also met in Brussels with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
During their meeting, Gul said that Ankara would mediate between
Azerbaijan and Armenia on the upper Karabakh issue. He also asked
Aliyev to support Turkey’s efforts to end the international isolation
of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). /Turkiye/