Davutoglu and Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos held a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting on Friday in Athens, Greece.Saying they discussed the Cyprus issue and Turkish-Greek relations during the meeting, Turkish minister added that the bilateral relations between the two countries also gained pace with the meetings of the High-level Strategic Cooperation Council (HSCC) which also added a new dimension into foreign trade and human affairs.
"Foreign trade with Greece has scaled up eight-nine times in last decade and our target is to reach $10 billion and more cooperation domains should be evaluated to actualize this amount," said Davutoglu.
Referring to Cyprus negotiations, Davutoglu said there had been an intensive negotiation speed in last weeks, adding "Turkey and Greece, as guarantors and confidence factors for Turkish and Greek Cypriots, have the will of contributing to the peace process."
Noting that Turkey and Greece wanted peace in the Eastern Mediterranean, Davutoglu emphasized that the key to the peace in the region was Cyprus, adding that the improvement in relations between the two countries would make them more powerful within the European continent.
"Cyprus issue will be solved by means of political will and Turkey is striving to positively contribute to the explanatory text which has been centered on concerning Cyprus negotiations in recent weeks. No need to initiate new arguments and we should immediately move to negotiations," added the minister.
Upon a question concerning situations of the minorities in Turkey, Davutoglu said he thought that everybody followed the great reforms made by Turkey in this issue, adding "Turkey has returned properties exceeding $1 billion to non-Muslim foundations with a far-reaching reform, which cannot be made in any other country. No other country carried out such an application of universal law concerning the Ottoman, Turkish and Muslim foundations. Despite this, we have not found it risky to take this step."
- Noting Turkey's principle is to widen all freedom domains of its people regardless of their origin and religion, the minister said, "We do it and European reports have also witnessed this issue."
- Davutoglu also underlined that common culture should always be protected and respect to institutions should be tackled when religious issues are in question.
The two countries have strong cooperation in energy and tourism as well as economy, trade and development, said the Greek minister, adding that a new natural gas pipeline stretching through Turkey to Europe has a key role in terms of energy and other initiatives should be developed as well concerning other issues in addition to the pipeline.
Mediterranean is not only important for natural gas, but also for renewable energy and Turkey's being ready to sign a readmission agreement with EU is important, which will ease struggling with the common illegal migration issue, added Venizelos.
Venizelos stated illegal migration was not only a humanitarian problem, but also a security issue both for European countries and Turkey, adding that the two countries had a good cooperation in struggling with terrorism.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/262658--turkish-fm-meets-with-his-greek-counterpart-in-greece
14/12/13
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Cyprus talks at ‘critical point,’ says Turkey's foreign minister....
ReplyDeleteTalks to resolve the decades-old problems in Cyprus are fast approaching a critical juncture, according to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
“We are not talking about a partial solution. The Cyprus issue is in such a state that all has been debated, and we have arrived at a critical point,” Davutoğlu said while he was on an official visit to Greece. “From here on, you either show a political will to move toward a solution or you just say that this isn’t working out. The United Nations is at a similar point as well.”
Davutoğlu attended a series of meetings during his time in Athens, including talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonios Samaras and Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos. The visit came as part of a recently intensified Cyprus initiative on Turkey’s part, which has garnered support from the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations.
Davutoğlu exchanged phone calls with his U.S. and British counterparts, John Kerry and William Hague, respectively, on Dec. 10 to discuss the developments regarding the Cypriot negotiations prior to his Athens visit, with both officials expressing interest and attention in the talks, according to a Turkish diplomat.
“Right now, both sides are trying to meet on a common negotiating position. The United States and the United Kingdom are both involved. This initiative started for a declaration of a beginning, but now serious work is being put into the real thing,” Davutoğlu said.
“[Greece and Turkey] are working on a text that reflects a summary of all previous negotiations. There could be developments regarding that text in the next couple of days. If that happens, both sides will begin talking about a solution. Then as I and [Greek Foreign Minister] Venizelos agreed upon in New York, their negotiators can come over to us, and ours could go over to them,” the foreign minister said.
Turkish and Greek Cypriots have been negotiating over the statement for the last three months as the latter’s pre-condition to start negotiations. Greek Cyprus’ insistence at putting some very significant and key aspects of a potential settlement into the blueprint has delayed the agreement, but the two sides were able to recently narrow their differences.
Single sovereignty, citizenship and single international representation were the Greek Cypriot priorities, while the Turkish side pressed to include a timeframe for talks in order not to have them open-ended. The Greek Cypriot leadership, however, has no intention of limiting the duration of talks.
Western powers and the European Union are also hoping that the two parties will return to the negotiation table to resolve the nearly four-decade-old problem.
Turkish Cypriots plan to complete negotiations in the first quarter of 2014 and to put the peace plan to a referendum in the spring, 50 years after the U.N. issued its first resolution on Cyprus.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/cyprus-talks-at-critical-point-says-turkeys-foreign-minister.aspx?pageID=238&nID=59552&NewsCatID=351
14/12/13
Turkish FM signals ‘positive psychological atmosphere’ for solution in Cyprus....
ReplyDeleteThe current "positive psychological atmosphere" is favorable to find a solution for the Cyprus issue, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Dec. 14 during a press conference with the Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu in Nicosia.
He assured that both Turkey and Turkish Cyprus were willing to take advantage of this positive atmosphere to reinitiate the stalled negotiations.
“Hopefully this will is shared by everyone so that a vision that can bring peace to the island can be developed,” Davutoğlu said, adding that the election of Nicos Anastasiades to the presidency in the south of the island had been a major turning point.
For his part Eroğlu said he had maintained constant communication with Anastasiades by phone and written correspondence.
“If you ask did we achieve what we aimed for, I would say that there is not a solution yet in Cyprus. But we have pursued our search for a solution with all of our good will until today,” Eroğlu said.
Prior to his visit to Nicosia, Davutoğlu held a series of meetings in Athens on Dec. 13 to discuss the details on the procedures of reviving talks between the two parts of the island. Both Turkey and Greece are working on a text that summarizes all previous negotiations of the four-decade-old problem, Davutoğlu told reporters in Greece.
Ankara’s recently intensified Cyprus initiative has garnered support from the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations.
Turkish Cypriots plan to complete negotiations in the first quarter of 2014 and to put the peace plan to a referendum in the spring, 50 years after the U.N. issued its first resolution on Cyprus.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-fm-signals-positive-psychological-atmosphere-for-solution-in-cyprus.aspx?pageID=238&nID=59574&NewsCatID=351
14/12/13