"TURKEY IS NOT A PROBLEM BUT A SOLUTION"

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator indicated that he wholeheartedly supported the message that Martti Ahtisaari, the former President of Finland and the head of the Independent Commission which drafted the report "Turkey in Europe: Breaking the Vicious Circle" on the accession process of Turkey, gave in his article published in the New York Times.

In his response to Ahtisaari's article Bagis wrote that Turkey was an honoured partner of the EU and deserved to be treated in a better way. Bagis said: "Ahtisaari's message is a beautiful expression of the devotion of wise and respectable minds of Europe to European ideals."

Bagis, in his response continued as follows:

"We do not want to get privileges from the EU. Turkey does not burden but makes contributions to the EU. Turkey is sure that when it gets united with the remaining parts of Europe its results will be beneficial for everyone. Notwithstanding the illiberal propaganda and prejudices against Turkey in Europe, Turkey is not a problem but a solution. Turkey is not a far and remote border region but the missing part of Europe. History and future is on Turkey's side. We are confident and proud of this."

Indicating that the government was determined to fulfill its obligations to the EU, Bagis said: "As the government we insist that the EU should fulfill its obligations, too."

Bagis, indicating that Turkey was the source of light and hope for 1.5 billion Muslims in the world continued as follows:

"We altogether have to give the correct message to the Muslims in the world. 21st Century requires the short-sighted politicians of the EU to have new and modern views concerning the European continent and the world. It is time for those politicians to leave the mentality of the 19th Century and reach our date. Turkey is and will be the other name of democracy, progress, peace, security and development both in Europe and the world."

Source: AA