“‘Half-country to lead miserable union,’ Gul tells EU”

Under the above title, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (22.11.11) reported that Turkish President Abdullah Gul, speaking to journalists from Turkey in London, where he is on a state visit, said that Turkey will protest against Cyprus serving as president of the rotating EU in July 2012.

Gul noted that talks between the EU and Turkey have been stalled for a long time, saying that almost all of the negotiation chapters have been frozen and that there is little possibility to open any of them at this time. “We have said that this hurts the EU’s reputation greatly. This might greatly discredit the EU starting in the first half of 2012. Can you imagine? The Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU, violating all the principles of the union, in a half-done manner, in an incomplete way. This was their first example of violating the principles of this family. And now, this half-country, this incomplete nation, will serve as EU president. You have such a union, but the presidency will be that of half a country. It will be half a country leading a miserable union,” Gul told Turkish journalists, using the word “miserable” in English, and adding that he has said the same words to EU officials.

Gul said Turkey would not participate in any meetings to be chaired by Cyprus but has no problems with continuing to work with the commission.

Gul also spoke about the details of his visit, saying that officials asked him questions about Syria in all of his meetings. Gul said Turkey had no hidden agendas concerning Syria, stating: “We want security, economic stability and welfare. If there is enough wealth, everybody will take his share of that. This is all we want.”

Gul said the issue of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) also came up during his talks in the UK, noting: “I always say this openly, nothing can justify terrorism. Radical political ideas can be defended as long as there is no violence behind them, but the fight against those who use violence will continue until the end. Sometimes it’s regional and sometimes international. We attach great importance to cooperation on this issue.”