ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SUPPORTS TURKEY IN EU, CAUTIONS ON CROSS BORDER OPERATION
New Anatolian, Turkey
June 14 2007
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema
says he strongly supports Turkey’s European Union membership but also
cautions Turkey against undertaking any cross border operation into
Iraq that will destabilize the northern Kurdish regions.
D’Alema first reaffirmed Italy’s support to Turkey’s EU membership
during his meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan
on Tuesday. D’Alema also indicated that the United Nations is the
right platform for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.
D’Alema also urged the government to refrain from cross-border
incursions into Iraq.
Instead, D’Alema urged Turkish officials to work with the Iraqi
government and leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan on denying a safe haven to
the PKK.
On Wednesday D’Alema was received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and
also met with main opposition leader Deniz Baykal.
D’Alema said he had chance to discuss relations between Italy and
Turkey with Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Baykal. He said
they also had chance to discuss the problems of the left as two
politicians who have similar political views.
The visiting minister met with Arinc at the Parliament. During the
meeting, Arinc thanked D’Alema for Italy’s and Italian government’s
determined support to Turkey’s EU process. "Turkey has strong support
of Italy in its EU process," Arinc said.
Meanwhile, D’Alema said that his visit aimed at extending support to
Turkey prior to the parliamentary elections.
D’Alema said that the role undertaken by Turkey in its region should
be appreciated.
Referring to recent acts of terror in Turkey, D’Alema said that
contribution of whole international community terrorism was essential
in the international fight against terrorism. He stressed that the EU
could be beneficial for Turkey, but in fact Europe needed Turkey more.
At a joint press conference Foreign Minister Gul lauded Turkish-Italian
relations and said the two countries "strongly agree on issues."
"There is great harmony between Turkey and Italy on political
matters. Italy has extended strong support to our EU membership bid
since the beginning, and we are pleased to see that this support will
continue," Gul said.
Turkey and Italy are in close cooperation within NATO, UN and other
international organizations, he explained.
He said Italy’s contributions to the Turkish economy are
satisfactory. "Italy is Turkey’s number three trade partner. There
are 500 Italian companies operating in Turkey in all fields. Italian
companies are involved in the energy sector in a very strong manner.
Trade volume between Turkey and Italy exceeded 12 billion euro last
year while he forecast it to reach 15 billion euros this year."
Gul also said that Turkish and Italian companies have close cooperation
in energy, and recalled that two countries are cooperating in
projects like Blue Stream (natural gas), Samsun-Ceyhan (crude oil),
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (crude oil).
D’Alema on his part lauded Turkey as good partner and said he
thanks Turkish leaders for receiving him as they are so busy with an
elections campaign.
D’Alema said that Italy continues to support Turkey’s EU membership
bid, and noted that his country will work to launch negotiations with
Turkey on three new chapters before Germany hands over the rotating
presidency of the EU (at the beginning of July) to Portugal.
D’Alema stated that Cyprus problem should be solved under the umbrella
of the UN, and Italy, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council, exerts efforts to this end. Underlining importance of
resumption of talks between the two sides in the island, the Italian
foreign minister said that this will also contribute to Turkey’s EU
membership bid.
D’Alema stated that Italy wants stability to be ensured in Iraq
and works to this end. He argued Turkey should avoid a cross-border
offensive into Iraq and urged Baghdad to cooperate with its neighbor
against Iraq-based guerrillas, saying, "Italy is for territorial
integrity of Iraq and wishes that Iraq will cooperate with its
neighbors in fight against terrorism."
"In general, I am against cross-border offensives. It is of benefit
to no one to create an environment of more tensions," he said. "We
expect Iraq to cooperate with its neighbors in the struggle against
terrorism. It is more useful and effective to seek dialogue and
cooperation in the struggle against terrorism."
The Italian foreign minister expressed deep sorrow over recent
terrorist attacks on civilian people and security forces in Turkey
while recalled that Italy and the EU want Turkey to improve human
rights and fundamental freedoms. "But these demands do never justify
attempts of some circles to gain their rights by means of terrorism,"
he added.
Terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan
D’Alema said he does not feel himself guilty for his decision regarding
head terrorist Abdullah Ocalan, when he was the prime minister of
Italy (in 1998). "It was not possible under Italian laws to extradite
Ocalan to Turkey since there was death penalty in Turkey those days,"
D’Alema told.
"When I think of that day, I do not feel myself guilty (of this
decision) since it was in line with the provisions of the Italian
Constitution. Secondly, all politicians have to obey the provisions
of the Constitution. Turkey abolished death penalty two years later.
And, this pleased us," D’Alema said.
Commenting on the claims that some weapons used by the terrorist
organization PKK in terrorist attacks were brought from Europe, and
mines were brought from Italy, D’Alema said "It is possible that some
of the weapons used may be Italian-made. Because, there were weapons
sent to Iraq long years ago and therefore there may be Italian weapons
among them. But if some sales are made, I don’t think they are made
in recent years."
D’Alema added that there have been firm controls in Italy for some
time to prevent sale of weapons to terrorist organizations.
Italy ‘vigilant and if necessary critical’ ally of Turkey
Italian foreign minister Massimo D’Alema has described his country
as a "vigilant" but if necessary "critical" ally of Turkey in its
attempts to join the European Union.
D’Alema who was in Ankara on Wednesday made the remarks in a letter
he wrote to the editor-in-chief of the Italian business daily,
Il Sole 24 Ore. "We have the ambition to propose ourselves as an
attentive interlocutor with Turkey, as a partner that strengthened by
a hard-won credibility, can maintain an intense dialogue – vigilant
and if necessary critical – to support Turkey in its integration into
Europe," D’Alema wrote in the letter.
"Europe does not ‘export’ democracy, with all the risks and
uncertainties that entails, but it tends to generate or consolidate
the indigenous democratic components of the countries that adhere or
aspire to adhere to the European Union," the Italian foreign minister
wrote in his letter to editor-in-chief Ferruccio De Bortoli.
Turkey’s membership process would be evaluated on the basis of
"specific and as yet unresolved issues, such as freedom of expression
and religion, the still awaited solution to relations with Cyprus,
the ‘Kurdish issue’ and relations with Armenia," D’Alema added in
the letter.