TURKEY REALIZES ITS POWER UNDER THE AK PARTY GOVERNMENT

Attending the TGNA General Assembly, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis took the floor to talk on behalf of the Government, about the Prime Ministry Note extending the mandate of Turkish troops under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for one more year.

Minister for EU Affairs, Bagis stated that many countries were supporting UNIFIL and Turkey which was very influential in the region could not hide its head in the sand, as in the past. Bagis also said: "Turkey realized its power under the AK Party government and enabled the world also realize this power."

Bagis pointed that Turkey having strong ties with the Middle East was negatively affected by the troubles in the region. He stated that Turkey attached priority to solve the problems through dialogue and aimed to make solidarity be dominant over disagreements.

Bagis noted that Lebanon was an important country for the stability of the whole region and it was a country summarising the Middle East. Bagis also said that it was an international responsibility for Turkey to exert efforts to establish stability and security in the region.

Minister for EU Affairs Bagis specified the aspects for which Turkey gave support to UNIFIL and he said that expenses regarding the military issues were met by the UN Secretariat.

Bagis declared that in Lebanon, there was no group disturbed by the existence of Turkish troops and that all the groups in Lebanon demanded Turkey to be in the region.

In the meeting, for the arguments that ‘the government is not serving Turkey', Minister for EU Affairs Bagis said:

'Consult your conscience whether this government served Turkey or not. It is absurd to say that this government has not served Turkey as the length of the highways built since the establishment of our Republic has doubled in the last 7 years, one third of the schools were opened, one fourth of the hospitals began to operate, air transport to many cities is now possible and Turkey's prestige both in the West and in the East increased under this government. This is ridiculous."

Source: AA