Hürriyet
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Turkish FM calls NATO, EU for an opening policy towards Balkans

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that NATO and the European
Union (EU) could succeed in creating common values and ideals in
Balkan countries where different religious faiths and cultures
co-exist. Efforts to normalize the country’s relations with Armenia
continue, he also said.

"The Balkans where different religious faiths and cultures co-existed,
need common values and ideals to bring people together. NATO and the
EU could achieve it together," Babacan said at a panel discussion on
"Caucasus and Balkans" held on the sidelines of the 45th Munich
Security Conference in Germany.

Babacan underlined the importance of dialogue to find productive
solutions to problems and said, "The EU should pursue an opening
policy towards the Balkans. We support Serbia’s membership to the
EU. On the other hand, we think that Macedonia should become a member
of NATO as soon as possible."

RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

Babacan said Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations with Armenia
ongoing, Anatolian Agency reported.

"Our efforts have been continuing to normalize the relations between
the two countries after President Serzh Sargsyan invited President
Abdullah Gul to watch the soccer match between Turkish and Armenian
national teams in Yerevan. After the relations between Turkey and
Armenia and Armenia and Azerbaijan are fully normalized, the situation
in the region will change considerably," he was quoted as saying.

Babacan met with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian and later
paid a visit of courtesy to Sargsyan, in the sidelines of the
conference. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said on Saturday that
the talks were quite productive.

Sargsyan said that important developments could happen in
Turkey-Armenia relations in the second half of the year, the agency
reported. Armenia aimed at developing its cooperation ties with all
regional countries to make southern Caucasus an alternate route of
transportation, he added.

Babacan last week met Nalbandian on the sidelines of the annual
meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, and said there has
been an ongoing process between Turkey and Armenia, who have no
diplomatic relations. He added that when a tangible outcome is
achieved it would be announced.

The two countries have no diplomatic relations and their border has
been closed for more than a decade, as Armenia presses the
international community with the backing of the diaspora to admit the
so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey’s call to
investigate the allegations, and over Armenia’s invasion of 20 percent
territory of Azerbaijan.

Babacan will proceed to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku from Germany
on Sunday, and he would meet Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and
President Ilham Aliyev there on Monday.