Anadolu Agency
Aug 26 2004
Ankara To Have Busy Diplomacy Traffic In September
ANKARA – Ankara will have a busy diplomacy traffic in September,
diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
Sources said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would come to
Turkey next week, would be the first Russian leader visiting Turkey
in the last 32 years.
Ankara would also host European Union (EU) Commissioner for
enlargement Guenter Verheugen in September, the same sources noted
and stressed the importance of this visit since it would be paid days
before the EU Commission would make public its progress report on
Turkey. The Commission is expected to publish its progress report on
October 6th.
Verheugen will visit Ankara, southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Aegean
city of Izmir, and commercial hub Istanbul between September 5th and
8th.
EU Commissioner Verheugen will meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on September 6th.
In the new EU Commission which will take over the office on November
1st and be presided by Jose Manuel Durao Barroso of Portugal,
Verheugen will be the EU Commission Vice President and the
Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry.
Another foreign high-ranking official who will visit Turkey in
September is Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. Khatami is expected
to arrive in Ankara at the end of September, sources said.
-GUL’S MEETINGS-
On the other hand, Gul will visit several foreign countries in
September, it was learned.
Sources said that Gul was planning to join the informal meeting of EU
Foreign Ministers to be held in Maastricht, the Netherlands on
September 3rd and 4th.
Gul is also expected to visit Baltic countries, including Estonia,
Lithuania and Latvia between September 9th and 14th.
The same sources noted that Gul might also visit Czech Republic and
Portugal in September.
Gul will fly to the United States to join United Nations (UN) General
Assembly on September 17th. Turkish FM Gul will have a tripartite
meeting with Armenian counterpart Vartan Oskanyan and Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammedyarov in New York, where they all participate
at the UN General Assembly.
The last meeting of the three ministers was in Istanbul during the
NATO summit held at the end of June. In this meeting, Turkey had
stated that it could play a role of a catalyst in settlement of
problems in the Caucasus.