ANKARA TO HOST MERKEL
By Azamat Damir, Berlin

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 4 2006

Shortly after the EU Commissioner Olli Rehn’s visit, Turkey will
welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday.

During the visit, bilateral relations between Turkey and Germany,
Turkey’s EU membership bid and the Cyprus issue will be discussed.

However, because of the anti-Turkey stance of her party, full support
for Turkey’s EU membership from Merkel is not expected.

The German Chancellor will arrive in Turkey for a two-day official
visit tomorrow. Merkel, who will meet with President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will also touch on
Turkey’s EU membership process and intercultural dialogue. However,
experts assert that Merkel, who will have to consider the promise
her predecessor’s support for Turkey’s full membership in the EU,
as well as the anti-Turkey views prevalent in her party, has to take
a very balanced view during the visit.

Merkel, who will head to Istanbul, will attend the Turkish-German
Business Congress. She will also meet with Greek Orthodox Patriarch
Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Turkish Armenians Mesrop Mutafian, and
officials from the Directorate of Religious Affairs. In the meetings,
the status of Turkish minorities, and the tension caused by Pope
Benedict XVI’s remarks that Muslims found offensive will be discussed.