Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Jan 7 2010
German minister says improvement of relations with Turkey very important
Ankara, 7 January: German foreign minister said on Thursday [7
January] that Turkey has been playing the role of stability in the
region.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle delivered a speech at the
conference of ambassadors in Ankara and said he attached a great
importance to improvement of relations between Turkey and Germany.
Germans are aware of Turkey’s strategic role in Near East and Middle
East, as well as its dynamic, social and economic structure, he said.
Westerwelle said the number of German companies operating in Turkey
was more than 3,900.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s (the founder of the Republic of Turkey) vision
for Turkey changed the state and the community fundamentally, and this
vision still prevails in Turkey, he said.
"What has been agreed between the EU and Turkey is still valid. This
German government will honour these undertakings. You have my word on
that," he said.
"(Membership talks) are an open-ended process. They do not imply
anything automatic. The outcome cannot be guaranteed at the outset,"
he said.
Strict compliance with the Copenhagen Criteria remains a prerequisite
for accession, Westerwelle said.
There was need for a new dynamic in membership talks, he said.
Westerwelle said he hoped that Turkey would take new steps regarding
accession talks because he attached great importance to the country’s
EU process.
Turkey has been consistently pursuing a policy based on mutual
understanding and economic cooperation with its neighbours, he said.
Turkey and Armenia should approve protocols aiming at normalizing
relations as soon as possible, the German minister said.
Westerwelle also attended a reception held in his honour at German
embassy in Ankara.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Deputy Prime Minister
Ali Babacan received German Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister
Westerwelle, who is currently in Ankara on a formal visit.
Both meetings were held behind closed doors.
A crowded delegation of German businessmen is accompanying Westerwelle.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
