German foreign minister arrives in Turkey to start tour - Summary

Wed, 06 Jan 2010

Ankara - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle arrived Wednesday in Ankara to begin a tour of Turkey and three Gulf nations, his first extended trip in the 10 weeks since he took office. Westerwelle was due to hold immediate talks later in the evening with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu.

On Thursday he is to meet with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is also to address a meeting of Turkey's ambassadors to other nations.

Westerwelle has several times praised reforms in Turkey which bring it more firmly into the fold of western democracies, but has urged Turkey to take further steps. Turkey's application to enter the European Union (EU) is to be a key topic of his talks in Ankara.

The minister is also expected to discuss policies on Afghanistan, the dispute with Iran over its nuclear research and the Mideast peace process during the tour, which also takes in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In Istanbul, which is one of the European capitals of culture this year, he is to inspect on Friday a grand home used to date as the German ambassador's summer residence. Officials hope to convert it into a German-Turkish cultural center.

Westerwelle heads the Free Democrat Party (FDP), the new junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition.

Merkel's Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is hostile to Turkey joining the EU, but Westerwelle is expected to tell Turkey that Berlin's policy is now set down in the accord made between the parties when they formed their coalition.

That says the Turkey-EU accession negotiations should be open to any outcome. Westerwelle has several times praised Turkey's efforts at modernizing reforms, while saying more progress is needed.

The CSU and some elements in Merkel's own Christian Democrats say Turkey should not be offered membership but only a "privileged partnership."

On Friday, Westerwelle will move on to Saudi Arabia with a large delegation of German business people who will be relying on the minister to open doors for them in the Gulf region.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302419,german-foreign-minister-arrives-in-turkey-to-start-tour--summary.html.