Zaman, Turkey
May 13 2006
Chirac to Erdogan: We’ll Consider Your Concerns
By Cihan News Agency, Anadolu News Agency (aa), Vienna
Published: Saturday, May 13, 2006
zaman.com
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met French President
Jacques Chirac during the Latin America-European Union (EU) Summit in
Austria’s capital Vienna. The main topic of the meeting was the draft
bill that would carry a fine of imprisonment for those who deny the
so-called Armenian Genocide.
Erdogan reacted to the regulation, which will be discussed at the
French National Parliament on May 18, and demanded the bill’s
cancellation.
Chirac said they will show the necessary sensitivity to Turkey’s
concerns about the issue.
Erdogan also met his Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Reportedly, dual relations were discussed during the meetings in
addition to Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
A unique protest took place during the `family photo’ taken at the
Vienna Congress Center. After the leaders took their places on the
platform, Evvangelina Carrozzo, an accredited journalist for the El
Diario newspaper in Argentina, walked towards the leaders half naked
sporting a banner. The Greenpeace member and Uruguay national was
protesting environmental pollution.
After drawing surprised laughter from the leaders, she was escorted
out of the hall and detained.
Following his participation in the football match organized in the
frame of the EU-Latin America summit upon the invitation of Austrian
Prime Minister Wolfgang Schussel, Erdogan also participated in the
opening session of the summit as the “Special Guest of Schussel.”
Erdogan spoke with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan
about developments in the Middle East and the political process in
Iraq during an official dinner for the leaders.
Turkish Prime Minister left for Bali after the meeting to attend the
D-8 summit.
The echoes of the football match, in which Erdogan scored two goals,
still resound. The British Financial Times commented on the game with
jokes and wrote Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected Schussel’s
invitation, but he established a team of all-stars including the
Turkish PM.