Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a press conference in Prague, "we exchanged views about war on terror. We are pleased to see that our views about international peace, stability and cooperation are similar."

Erdogan and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek held a joint press conference after their meeting in Prague on Thursday.

Erdogan said that Turkey considers Czech Republic as a reliable ally in Europe, adding that the two countries are sharing common universal values. Erdogan also thanked Czech Republic for its support to Turkey's EU membership.

PM Erdogan said that commercial and economic relations between Turkey and Czech Republic are on the rise, adding, "trade volume between the two country was 260 million USD in 2000, and it climbed to 1.1 billion USD in 2006. This figure has already reached 1 billion USD in the first nine months of 2007. We expect it to top 1.5 billion USD by the end of the year."

On the other hand, Czech Prime Minister Topolanek said that commercial relations between Turkey and Czech Republic increased for four times in the last five years, adding that the relations between the two country are very dynamic.

Topolanek said that his country supports Turkey's accession to the EU, adding that Turkey's full membership is the only target as regards the merger of two magnificent civilizations.

When a reporter asked what kind of initiatives Czech Republic (which will be the EU President in 2009) will take regarding Turkey's EU membership process, Topolanek said that they will use this period to intensify talks with Turkey.

Noting that the 'Mediterranean Project' is not supported by a large majority of Mediterranean countries but only by France, Topolanek said that many countries --including Spain, consider Barcelona Project enough for the integration of Mediterranean countries. He also added that Mediterranean Union cannot be a 'quid pro quo' for Turkey's full membership.

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Güncelleme Tarihi: 16 Kasım 2007, 14:39