"FROM NOW ON, WE HAVE TO FIND OUT SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS OF TURKEY BY MEANS OF DIALOGUE"

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator, gave a lecture on EU in the AK Party Political Academy in Merinos Cultural Center, Bursa.

Making a speech and answering the questions before the programme, Bagis said: "Turkey is in need of new solutions not new problems. From now on, we have to find out solutions to the problems of Turkey by means of dialogue.

Stating that the initiation of Turkey's negotiation process with the EU was an important process, Bagis said: "EU is the most important modernization project after the proclamation of Turkish Republic. Expressing that, within the mentioned framework, Turkey was still continuing the process that had been initiated by Adnan Menderes in 1959, Bagis continued his speech with these:

"Turkey, which couldn't even receive a negotiation process in the first 45 years of the 50 year-long process, is not only a candidate country but also a country which started the negotiations and proceeding with determination within the last 5 years. Within this framework, the prosperity of Turkey is increasing each day. Turkey's democracy is in further progress. Its economy also started to improve. Within this scope, the opportunity which our president mentioned about, is an opportunity indeed. Till now, different methods have been experienced, but the people in the south-east of Turkey are our brothers.

Turkey is a whole. In Turkey there is a ruling party that is concerned about the problems of Turkey. There is a political will determined to find out solutions to the problems of Turkey. Turkey is in need of new solutions not new problems. From now on, we have to find out solutions to the problems of Turkey by means of dialogue. For the problems of Turkey, we will work together with the westerner and easterner, Alewi and Sunni, military and civilian, the young and the old, the men and the women. Together, we will find out solutions to all problems of Turkey."

Bagis stated that, in the Republic of Turkey, the prime minister , the president and the leading political leaders had made a concerted effort to the westernization, democratization and modernization of Turkey and he added that they had worked for the integration between EU and Turkey."

Resource: AA