OZUGERGIN: ‘DATE NOT CLEAR ABOUT TURKISH AMBASSADOR’S RETURN TO US’
Today’s Zaman
April 1 2010
Turkey
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said on Thursday
that a date had not been set yet regarding the return of Turkish
Ambassador Namik Tan to Washington.
When asked who would represent Turkey in Nuclear Security Summit
in the US, Ozugergin said that whether Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip
Erdogan would go to the US or not for the summit was not clear yet.
Asked whether Armenia demanded suspension or cancellation of protocols
(signed by Turkey and Armenia for normalization of relations),
Ozugergin said that a formal demand was not made. He added that on the
other hand, it was wrong to claim that Turkey was not interested in
Upper Karabakh issue. Ozugergin said that as long as Upper Karabakh
issue was not solved, a solution would not be found to the problems
in the region.
Regarding Direct Trade Regulation (in Cyprus), Ozugergin said that EU
committed to end isolations on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
following Annan Plan referendum in 2004, however, EU had not still
kept this promise, and Direct Trade Regulation had not been put into
practice yet.
Ozugergin noted that the process began to debate Direct Trade
Regulation at EP within the scope of Lisbon Treaty, adding that EU’s
fulfilling its commitments would increase its credibility.
Regarding Turkey’s stance about a sanction on Iran regarding its
nuclear agenda, Ozugergin said that Turkey’s stance about prevention
of proliferation of nuclear weapons and use of nuclear energy for
peaceful means was clear.
He added that exerting efforts for solution was still Turkey’s
priority.
Assessing the decision of Serbian Parliament about Srebrenica,
Ozugergin reminded that on March 30, Serbian Parliament adopted a
decision which condemned the crime committed in Srebrenica in July,
1995.
Ozugergin said that Turkey considered this development as an important
step for a consensus between peoples of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.