ANKARA
Turkish Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis on Wednesday said that Turkey would support and approve any solution the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots agreed on as long as the solution was based on "political equality" in the island.
Egemen Bagis met with Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Trade Minister Eamon Gilmore at the EU Ministry in Ankara on Thursday. Following their meeting, the two ministers held a joint press conference.
Speaking at the press conference, Bagis said that Gilmore and he discussed Turkey's EU negotiations process, the chapter on "Regional Policies" expected to be opened to negotiations soon, the chapter on "Social Policies and Employment" which he plans to discuss in a visit to Brussels, the issue of Cyprus and visas.
Thanking Gilmore for his constructive attitude, Bagis underlined that the Irish term presidency has always been beneficial for the EU.
-"We strongly support Turkey's EU membership"-
Egemen Bagis and I held a fruitful meeting on Turkey's EU membership process and the progress that could be made during the Irish term presidency, Gilmore stated.
"Ireland has been a strong supporter of Turkey's EU membership. During our seventh EU term presidency, we have made it our aim to revive accession talks between Turkey and the EU," Gilmore stressed.
"We are conducting works so that the chapter of 'Regional Policies' gets opened to negotiations with Turkey. I do hope that we can use this opportunity we have to make progress in Turkey's accession talks," Gilmore noted.
The revival of accession talks would benefit both the EU and Turkey, Gilmore said.
Expressing his pleasure over seeing Bagis wear the Irish term presidency tie, Gilmore stressed that Ireland and Turkey worked hand in hand in the accession process.
-"I hope Cyprus issue gains new momentum"-
Asked if progress could be made on the Cyprus issue during Irish term presidency, Gilmore said that they wanted to see the Cypriot issue solved.
"We support the Annan Plan which foresaw a federal solution based on two zones and two peoples. I do hope that efforts to solve the Cypriot problem gain new momentum after a new government came to power in southern Cyprus," Gilmore stated.
Replying to the same question, Egemen Bagis underlined that Turkey would support and approve any solution on which the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots agreed as long as the solution was based on "political equality".
Let them agree and we will support them, Bagis noted.
-"Our advice is for unity to be established"-
In response to a question on what type of an advise Turkey gave to Ireland on the arms embargo on Syria, Bagis said that Turkey wanted to see its neighbors in peace.
Turkey is doing everything possible to end the crisis in Syria, Bagis emphasized.
"This tyranny has to end. Our advise is for unity to be established in Syria in the name of peace and to stop the bloodshed. We need to apply pressure on all members of the UN Security Council and especially to those who seem to be supporting the Assad regime. This may not be a problem of only Turkey, Ireland or Europe but must involve the international community as a whole," Bagis stressed.
"The Syrian people must decide on the result of the process. They deserve democracy just as we do," Bagis said.
Minister Gilmore said that he shared the same notions with Bagis.
"What is urgent is to stop the bloodshed and end the massacre in Syria. In order to accomplish this, we need to support the political process," Gilmore stated.
"The UN needs to take solid steps in this direction and the members of the UN Security Council must be convinced on the issue," Gilmore said.
The UN and the international community must display their position on Syria and make use of their influence in reaction to the developments in Syria, Gilmore underlined.
-Opportunities for cooperation-
In regard to a question on opportunities for commercial cooperation between Turkey and Ireland, Egemen Bagis said that there were opportunities present for Turkish businesspeople in Ireland and vice versa.
"Aside from this, the investors of both countries could cooperate in third countries," Bagis stated.
Deputy Prime Minister Gilmore indicated that there was a trade volume of 1.3 billion USD between Turkey and Ireland.
"Despite the economic crisis, the trade volume between Turkey and Ireland grew 20 percent," Gilmore noted.
"Talks between Turkey and the EU in the commercial field is a part of the EU process. Ireland, as a member of the EU for almost 40 years, is ready to share its experiences with Turkey. This way, we could generate new opportunities in the commercial field," Gilmore underlined.
Reacting to Gilmore's comments, Minister Bagis said that "we could start the day with Turkish coffee and end it with Irish coffee".
