Anadolu Agency
Sept 24 2004
Gul: We Have No Plan B About EU
NEW YORK – “The government does not have `plan B` in case it fails
to win a date from the European Union (EU) for start of entry
talks,“ Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah
Gul said on Friday.
Gul addressed the Turkish-American Business Forum in New York.
Asked if the Turkish government has `plan B` in case the EU makes a
negative decision about Turkey in December, Gul said, “we have no
such plan. We have reached the end of our forty-year work. We have no
energy to prepare such a plan after current stage. Turkey`s EU target
has not come out with dream or desire. We should be realistic. We
wrote down the criteria required for it one by one. We crossed out an
article we have completed. Now that we see that the things we should
fulfill lessened. Besides, the European leaders know the consequences
and negative impacts of a negative political decision after all the
conditions are met.“
Stating that end of 2004 would be recorded as an important turning
point in Turkey`s history, Gul said, “Turkey and EU will start talks
on full membership. No obstacle remained in front of it. The same
conditions should be imposed on Turkey as other members.“
Gul said, “I can say that political criteria are met in Turkey.
There has been very significant developments in economic conditions.
There is no more obstacle to start negotiations. European leaders
know this very well. All those changes will be reflected in the
commission report. A political decision will be made and negotiations
will start without losing time. This will be the start of a new
period in Turkey.“
Gul stated that there was a realistic, rational and resolved
government in Turkey.
Stating that Turkish community in the United States should be
strengthened, Gul said, “the more strength you gain here, the more
you will be beneficial to Turkey.“
Gul said there has been a transformation in Turkey, and stressed that
this transformation is not only in political area but also in
economy, culture, arts, and social life.
Emphasizing that confidence was provided in economy, Gul said on the
one hand inflation rate was dropped, and on the other hand economic
growth was around 13-14 percent. “This is an economic miracle,“ Gul
said.
Replying to a question, Gul said one of the most significant policies
of the government was improvement of relations with neighboring
countries.
“Security problems should be solved for economic development. With
this objective, the region should turn into a secure region. This can
only be provided with positive relations,“ Gul pointed out.
“The government set up sincere relations with whole Islam and Arab
world. There has been incredible increases in our trade as a result
of this. This was reflected in political atmosphere. Positive
relations are also very important for global peace. Islam countries
closely follow reforms in Turkey. I believe that the reforms will
have positive effects on those countries,“ Gul underlined.
Replying to another question, Gul said he was against use of nuclear
energy as weapon, and stated that, “we suggest this to Iran in a
friendly manner. We want the region to be purified from nuclear
weapons.“
Gul said Turkey`s relations improved with its neighbors in the
Caucasus, stating that Armenia should withdraw from the Azerbaijani
territories for normalization of relations. “Both Armenia and
Azerbaijan want Turkey to be active for resolution of this problem,“
Gul said, stating that Turkey exerted efforts for resolution of this
problem.