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Turkish Press Review, 97-12-29Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWDIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER29.12.97Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning. [01] YILMAZ SIGNS NATURAL GAS DEALPrime minister Mesut Yilmaz has come back from a visit to Turkmenistan after setting up a new natural gas deal with top officials there. First assessments suggest that the deal, signed with Turkmenistan state minister Saparmurat Turkmenbasi, is an "important step forward" in projects to bring Turkmeni natural resources to world markets through outlets in Turkey.The agreement, signed on Sunday, means that Turkey will have a large share in the extraction, transportation and sale of Turkmeni natural gas. The deal also opens the way for Turkey to get hold of a large part of similar projects in Azerbaijan and Kazakistan. With new horizons opening up fast in the region, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Cumhur Ersumer said after the signing ceremony that in the next century Turkey "will be an energy bridge." Azeri President Haydar Aliyev noted during the visit of Mesut Yilmaz that he shared the same views with Mesut Yilmaz and that talks had gone ahead in an atmosphere of "brotherly sincerity". Now that new agreements have been reached, it is expected that natural gas will reach Turkey in the near future, and petrol within a few years. /All papers/ [02] PRESIDENT DEMIREL EVALUATES 1997President Suleyman Demirel held Saturday a press conference to review his activities and accomplishments during 1997. During the press meeting, traditionally held at the end of every year, Demirel identified democracy as the most important issue facing Turkey, and stressed that Turkey as a constitutional democracy will adhere to the basic principles of "making its citizens part of a modern state." /All papers/[03] FM CEM: BETTER RELATIONS WITH CHINACommenting on targets to be reached in 1998, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that relations with the EU and Greece along with the Cyprus issue will be high on the agenda in 1998, and added that improving relations with the US was another issue with major priority. Cem noted that Turkey was planning a commercial breakthrough in China. The minister is scheduled to pay a visit to China in the middle of February. /Sabah/[04] TURKISH TROOPS IN NORTHERN IRAQTurkish troops have launched a fresh attack against PKK terrorists in Northern Iraq. Turkish security officials reported Saturday that the Turkish forces were hunting down terrorists in the White Mountain region of Northern Iraq, near the point where the borders of Turkey, Iraq and Syria meet. /Cumhuriyet/[05] MOB ATTACK AGAINST TURKISH MINORITY IN KOMOTINIAs the result of mob attacks against the Turkish minority in Komotini six civilians have been injured. The injured Turks said that while they were walking along the street, speeding motorbikers came close to them and hit them with metal objects. They claimed too that local police were not treating their complaints seriously. / Milliyet/[06] YILMAZ SENDS LETTER TO BLAIRIt is reported that Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has sent a letter to his British counterpart Tony Blair, who will soon take over the term presidency of the European Union (EU), suggesting a three-point plan to normalize Turkish-EU relations.According to the Greek To Vima daily newspaper, Yilmaz said that three conditions must be realized to improve Turkish-EU relations. He listed these three conditions as follows: the EU should include Turkey as a candidate member country in its official reports; Turkey should be given the same status as Central and East European countries with which EU membership negotiations will begin later; and finally the EU should organize an "extention process" meeting but not a "membership process" meeting with candidate countries next April and also organize "strategic determination before membership" meetings with Turkey. /Milliyet/ [07] KURDS RESCUEDItalian coastguards, police and fishermen mobilised early on Saturday to rescue the illegal immigrants, nearly all of them Kurds from Turkey and Iraq, from the stricken Turkish-registered Ararat motor vessel which hit a sandbank off the southern Calabrian coast. Italy called on Turkey to take action against gangs involved in ferrying illegal immigrants to Europe after nearly 1,000 men, women and children were rescued from the grounded ship off Italy's southern coast."The growing arrivals of Kurds, whether thay are from Turkey or Iraq, is becoming a difficult problem not only for Italy but also for several other members of the European Union," Interior Minister Giorgio Napolitano. /Milliyet/ [08] 15 PKK UNITS CAPTURED IN ISTANBULPolice arrested 15 PKK terorrists including İlhan Erden who is reported as being the member of the Marmara Committee of so called "Dersim Province" responsible for giving the order for the Umraniye PKK attack on November 28, which ended up with the death of one policeman. The police also confiscated one revolver , six bullets and some documents belonging to the organization. /Sabah/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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