Betraying Sarkozy, ?wise men? back Turkish EU bid
Today?s Zaman (Turkey), 11 May 2010, Tuesday
Selçuk Gültaşlı, Brussels
The European Union?s Reflection Group, which was created in December 2007 upon the initiative of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to present recommendations for the year 2030, has concluded that Brussels should keep its promises to Turkey, meaning that negotiations should continue with the aim of full membership.
EU would ?lose credibility? if it blocks Turkey entry
Agence France Presse
8 mai 2010
Former Spanish prime minister Felipe Gonzalez on Saturday warned that the European Union would ?lose credibility? on the world stage if it backs down from a commitment to bring Turkey on-board.
?Europe should honour its commitment,? Gonzalez told reporters after unveiling a million-euro report into the bloc?s future commissioned by national leaders.
Turkey and Russia assemble an ?axis of outsiders?
The National (United Arab Emirates), May 06. 2010
Adrian Pabst *
It was one of the most memorable parliamentary brawls of recent times. Members of Ukraine?s Supreme Council threw punches, eggs and smoke bombs, while the speaker was shielded with an umbrella.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during a news conference in Istanbul May 18, 2010. Turkey said on Tuesday Iran has shown a clear political will to solve a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme and said it was not time to discuss further U.N. sanctions. “There is no uncertainty left and Iran has shown a clear political will” Davutoglu told in the news conference, adding the deal was Iran’s most important initiative in international diplomacy in 30 years.? Read more » REUTERS/Murad Sezer
JOINT DECLARATION BY IRAN, TURKEY AND BRAZIL
Mavi Boncuk
JOINT DECLARATION BY IRAN, TURKEY AND BRAZIL
(17 May 2010)
Having met in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, the undersigned have agreed on the following Declaration:
1. We reaffirm our commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and in accordance with the related articles of the NPT, recall the right of all State Parties, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy (as well as nuclear fuel cycle including enrichment activities) for peaceful purposes without discrimination.
Israel weighs formal response to Iran nuclear deal
U.S. Is Skeptical on Iranian Deal for Nuclear Fuel
Turkey: Iran nuclear swap offer shows ‘vision’
La Turquie et la Grèce veulent arrêter leur course aux armements
La Croix (France)
17 mai 2010
En visite à Athènes en fin de semaine dernière, le président turc Erdogan a proposé à la Grèce un accord de réduction mutuelle des armements, pour l?aider à faire face aux échéances de sa dette.
« Les deux pays ont d?énormes budgets de défense. Nous devons réduire ces dépenses et utiliser l?argent à d?autres fins », a proposé Recep Tayyip Erdogan lors d?un entretien à la télévision publique grecque, à l?issue de son séjour à Athènes ce week-end. Le premier ministre turc était arrivé vendredi pour une visite officielle de deux jours, destinée à raffermir le rapprochement entre les deux pays.
L?activisme de la Turquie
Le Temps (Suisse), 18 mai 2010
Delphine Nerbollier, Istanbul
Ankara a engagé une diplomatie régionale très intense. Le premier ministre turc savoure sa victoire. Après des mois de négociations, Recep Tayyip Erdogan a finalement assisté à la signature d?un accord assurant un échange d?uranium sur le territoire turc. Malgré les doutes sur l?avenir de ce texte et les soupçons de manipulation par Téhéran, l?aboutissement de cette médiation est perçu à Ankara comme une incontestable réussite diplomatique.
La diplomatie turque au four et au moulin
La Croix (France), 11 mai 2010
Henri Madelin *
L?économie turque se porte bien grâce à sa proximité des grands marchés européens. Au fil des ans, Ankara devient surtout un acteur incontournable, un pays de transit avec royalties à la clé, pour permettre au gaz et au pétrole de la Caspienne de parvenir jusqu?à la Méditerranée. Depuis cette base, la Turquie est dans une position clé pour alimenter les pays de l?Europe du Sud et du centre assoiffés de ces apports aussi importants pour le développement économique que le sang dans le corps humain, selon une expression chère à Winston Churchill dans les batailles énergétiques de naguère.
La Turquie et la Russie
RIA Novosti (Russie), 12 mai 2010
Par Andreï Fediachine
Lorsque le président Dmitri Medvedev est arrivé le 11 mai au soir en visite officielle à Ankara, son principal but était déjà plus ou moins clair, il s?agissait de la création du Conseil de coopération de niveau supérieur (Medvedev le présidera du côté russe), la signature d?un accord sur la suppression des visas (pour les touristes, entrée libre pour un délai d?un mois) et de la coopération dans la construction de centrales nucléaires. Nous commencerons avec la Turquie ? et cela doit être déclaré lors de la première réunion du Conseil avec la participation du président russe ? la mise en ?uvre d?un « plan de coopération stratégique en trois étapes » dans les domaines politiques, commercial, économique et dans le cadre des organisations publiques.
A Turkey that strikes fear into enemies
LALE KEMAL – Turkey-Greece: Trial balloons flown on thorny issues
Turkish officials confirmed that Turkish F-16s had flown over the Aegean Sea on Thursday, the day Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flew to Greece for his historic two-day visit to this neighboring country, a fellow NATO member with whom Turkey has been engaged in a bitter, deep-rooted dispute over sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea as well as on the unresolved Cyprus issue. Turkish officials denied, however, that Turkish F-16s engaged in mock dogfights with Greek jets on the day of Erdoğan?s trip.ANDREW FINKEL – The region?s agony aunt
Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkey?s foreign minister, has just blown out the candle celebrating his first year in the job during which time he has enjoyed a favorable press. A former éminence grise to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he has now acquired an all too prominent role on the international stage, jetting to parts of the globe that were once beyond the purview of the ministry
HASAN KANBOLAT – Medvedev?s Ankara visit and regaining kinship
Seventeen agreements were signed between the Russian Federation and Turkey on May 12 during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev?s Ankara visit, which took place on the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.BERİL DEDEOĞLU – Turkey and Russia?s common strategic vision
Agreements concluded last week between Russia and Turkey were presented as a reflection of the strategic partnership between these two without clarifying the areas where this strategic vision will be put into practice. Still, we can make some assumptions.AMANDA PAUL – Russia-Turkey make limited progress
I am beginning to lose track of the number of visits by Russian officials to Turkey. However, whatever the number, it is a lot.Turks delight in showing strengths to EU
Financial Times (UK), May 16, 2010
By David Gardner in Ankara
Europe day, which this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Schuman declaration that set Europe on its trundling course towards union, was celebrated with some effusion last week in Turkey ? at least publicly. In Istanbul, a suspension bridge across the Bosphorus was lit up in the blue and yellow colours of the EU flag. In Ankara, the EU and omnipresent Turkish flags were knotted together around lampposts.
Turkey?s new visionary
Al Jazeera, May 12, 2010
The Rageh Omaar Report: Turkey?s New Visionary
While leaders of the Middle East are caught between solving new and old economic and political problems, and while the peoples of the region are losing hope due to a lack of direction or solutions, one country is quietly forging ahead with plans to become a regional superpower. And one man is directing and implementing this drive.
What is happening to Turkey?
The Wall Street Journal (USA), May 11, 2010
By Bret Stephens, Istanbul
As the country has become wealthier, it paradoxically has also shed some of its Western trappings.
Today, Mr. Erdogan has excellent relations with Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, whom the prime minister affectionately calls his ?brother.? He has accused Israel of ?savagery? in Gaza and opened a diplomatic line to Hamas while maintaining good ties with the genocidal government of Sudan. He was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his fraudulent victory in last year?s election. He has resisted intense pressure from the Obama administration to vote for a new round of Security Council sanctions on Iran, with which Turkey has a $10 billion trade relationship. And he has sabotaged efforts by his own foreign ministry to improve ties with neighboring Armenia.
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