TURKEY’S FOREIGN MINISTER EXPECTS FAIR PROGRESS REPORT

Turkish Press
10/21/2008
MI

ANKARA – The Turkish foreign minister expressed his expectation for
an objective and fair progress report on Tuesday.

Turkey`s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that he expected that
the European Commission would prepare an objective and fair progress
report on Turkey.

The commission is to make public the report on Turkey`s progress on
the road to European Union (EU) membership in November.

"This year`s report should objectively and fairly show where Turkey
is, what it is doing, and what it has to do," Babacan told the private
NTV channel.

Babacan said Turkey would make reforms according to its own schedule
and priorities.

Also, Babacan said that Turkey would maintain its busy diplomacy
traffic with Armenia, and told the private channel that he might
meet his Armenian counterpart in a meeting of the foreign ministers
of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) countries in Tirana, Albania.

Turkey`s President Abdullah Gul paid one-day visit to the Armenian
capital of Yerevan to watch a 2010 World Cup qualifier between Turkish
and Armenian national soccer teams on September 6, 2008.

Gul met his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian during this visit.