AUSTRIAN POLITICIAN: TURKEY AND RUSSIA HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EUROPE

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.06.2008 13:38 GMT+04:00

Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider questioned Tuesday why
Russia and Turkey were allowed to participate in the European soccer
championships, the Euro 2008.

"What have these two countries got in common with Europe?" Haider asked
in an interview published in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Turkey is set to play Germany in the semi-final on Wednesday and
Russia will play Spain in the other semi-final on Thursday. That
means the final in Vienna on Sunday could pitch two non-EU members
against each other, Russia versus Turkey.

Haider, who heads the Austrian far-right BZOe party, is opposed to
Turkey’s bid to join the 27-nation EU.

"The Turks could well win the final in Vienna. But Europe’s gates
must remain closed for Turkey," he said.

"I don’t think they’re in a position to accept European rules
and culture," he said, the AFP reports.