SWEDISH PM WELCOMES RETURN OF TURKISH ENVOY

news.az
April 1 2010
Azerbaijan

Fredrik Reinfeldt Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has welcomed
the return to Stockholm of the Turkish ambassador, Zergun Koruturk.

According to the Swedish press, Prime Minister Reinfeldt said that
it was a good step to keep Turkish-Swedish relations healthy. He also
highlighted the importance of bilateral ties.

Reinfeldt extended Sweden’s support to Turkey’s membership of the
European Union.

Meanwhile, Koruturk said in an interview with the Swedish news agency
TT that the Turkish government welcomed the attitude of both Swedish
Prime Minister Reinfeldt and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, following
the Swedish parliament’s resolution accepting Armenian allegations
of genocide.

‘The Turkish government and I are sure that there will be no changes in
the foreign policy of the Swedish government. Prime Minister Reinfeldt
and Foreign Minister Bildt said in their statements that it was the
government, not parliament, which shaped Sweden’s foreign policy,’
she said.

The Turkish diplomat returned to Sweden on Tuesday after being recalled
to Ankara for consultations after the Swedish parliament on 11 March
passed a resolution on the incidents of 1915. The resolution was
approved with 131 votes in favour and 130 against. Turkey strongly
rejects the genocide allegations and regards the events as civil
strife in wartime which claimed the lives of many Turks and Armenians.