Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Jan 18 2007
Turkish PM, European Jewish Council chairman discuss EU accession,
anti-Semitism
Ankara, 18 January: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
received Pierre Besnainou, the Chairman of European Jewish Council,
in Turkish capital of Ankara today.
After the meeting, Besnainou qualified their meeting as
"interesting", and said that they discussed Turkey-EU relations.
Besnainou expressed belief that Turkey’s membership will be for the
benefit of the EU.
On the other hand, Turkey can also contribute to the Middle East
process, he stated.
Turkey is a country that can ensure stability in the region and this
is Turkey’s policy for many years, Besnainou said.
Besnainou also expressed belief that Turkey can be effective in
convincing Palestine to assure Israel about the condition of the
Israeli soldier who was abducted a few months ago.
Pointing out that they also discussed antisemitism in Europe,
Besnainou welcomed Turkey’s perfect relations with the Jews.
"We believe that Turkey’s opening all its archives to historians and
scientists will help illumination of this matter," he said when
commenting on so-called Armenian genocide allegations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress