Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 11 2007

Dialogue channels between Ankara, Paris reopening

Bilateral relations between France and Turkey, which have
deteriorated since France passed a bill making denial of the
so-called Armenian "genocide" a crime, will be revived with a
high-level visit to Ankara next month.

The secretary general of the French Foreign Ministry will pay an
official visit to Ankara in early September to restart annual
political consultations at a meeting with the Turkish Foreign
Ministry’s undersecretary, Ertuðrul Apakan.
In October of last year, the French Parliament approved a bill that
made it a crime to deny that the Ottoman Turks committed "genocide"
against Anatolian Armenians during World War I, despite Ankara’s
protests and a warning that this would "poison" the deeply rooted
relations between the two countries. Later in the year, the Turkish
military announced that its ties with France had been suspended after
the French legislature’s approval of the so-called genocide bill. In
late May, France’s new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, dispatched an
envoy to Ankara in hopes of opening dialogue. Turkey is in turn
concerned by Sarkozy’s firm objections to Turkey’s accession to the
European Union.

The visit, by Jean-David Levitte, a former French ambassador to
Washington, took place just 72 hours after a telephone conversation
between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Sarkozy.
Erdoðan phoned Sarkozy a day after the newly elected French leader
reiterated his objections to Turkey’s entry into the EU, requesting
direct talks to discuss and resolve problems. A second telephone
conversation took place when Sarkozy called Erdoðan after the July
elections to welcome "his remarkable victory." Sources close to the
prime ministry told Today’s Zaman that an official visit by Erdoðan
to the French capital in the next few months was on agenda. The visit
is likely to take place before the planned EU summit at the end of
2007.

Sarkozy has suggested that instead of joining the EU, Turkey should
play a central role in a "Mediterranean Union." Turkey, a candidate
to join the EU since 1999, rejects outright the idea of any
privileged partnership in place of full membership in the 25-nation
bloc, first mooted by German conservatives, including German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, and has since found supporters amongst
other opponents to Turkey’s bid.

11.08.2007

SÜLEYMAN KURT ANKARA