GERMAN OPPOSITION LEADER DEMANDS CLARIFICATIONS ON TURKEY-ARMENIAN RELATIONS

IPR Strategic Business Information Database
May 30, 2005

According to Aksam, Germany’ds main opposition leader Angela Merkel
urged Turkey to improve its relations with Armenia and clarify its
official attitude on the Cyprus issue before starting accession talks
with the European Union on Oct. 3. Although Turkey’ds EU membership
bid is supported by current German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his
party, Merkel’ds party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), however,
favors a looser “privileged partnership” with Ankara. The CDU is the
main sponsor of a draft resolution before the German Parliament calling
on Turkey to take historical responsibility for the so -called mass
killings of Armenians during the late Ottoman era. Merkel’ds party will
challenge Schroeder’ds Social Democrats in early polls this September.