Czech President: We support Turkey’s membership in EU

President Abdullah Gul and First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul hosted a dinner yesterday in the honor of Czech Republic’s President Vaclav Klaus and his spouse Livia Klausova paying an official visit in Turkey.

“I believe that your visit will open new horizons for our countries’ exemplary cooperation,” Gul said, delivering a speech at the dinner.

Before the dinner, Gul said in a joint conference with his Czech counterpart that the Syrian crisis should be solved with regional initiatives and emphasized that non-regional solutions from distance would not be viable proposals to solve the crisis developing in Turkey’s southern neighbor.

Gul asserted that the Syrian situation was the Middle East’s own issue, saying that a solution for Syria must come from within the Middle East.

Speaking in his part, Klausova stated that Turkey has been very patient while enduring the candidacy process to the EU, saying, “I’m not sure whether the EU is an attractive goal for Turkey or not, but I would like to emphasize that the Czech Republic is in favor of your membership in terms of its own interests. Such a big, economically strong and dynamic country is capable of changing current atmosphere in the EU and helping the block shift its direction which results in crisis, stagnation and tension. We wish to keep Turkey as our primary economic and political partner,” Klaus said.

16.02.2012
SOURCE: DUNYA.COM