Turkish minister’s meltdown
TURKISH FOREIGN Minister Ahmet Davutoglu saw red when pressured to accept Cyprus’ presence in EU-NATO meetings during a NATO summit in Berlin on Sunday.
A number of Turkish papers yesterday reported that Davutoglu and Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg engaged in a verbal spat at the NATO foreign ministers’ summit over comments on Cyprus. So much so that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton was quoted as saying she had never seen Davutoglu so “upset” before.
Davutoglu reportedly lost his cool when Schwarzenberg effectively told him to mind his own business, after the Turkish minister suggested the EU made a mistake accepting Cyprus.
According to Hurriyet, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen referred to the “negative impact” of Turkey’s veto on EU-NATO meetings. He proposed a compromise deal where Turkey joins the European Defence Agency and in exchange accepts Cyprus’ participation in joint EU-NATO meetings.
Davutoglu replied that Turkey’s membership to the Defence Agency was an EU commitment to Turkey already.
“Do not expect from us to make steps that will legitimise the Greek Cypriot administration in return for this,” he said, adding it was a mistake to let Cyprus join the EU before a solution.
Schwarzenberg, confirming his country’s support to Turkey’s EU bid, said: “It is not correct for a non-EU country to say to us ‘You have made a mistake’. You cannot interfere in our internal affairs.”
Davutoglu retorted that the only reason Cyprus got into the EU was because Greece had “blackmailed” the EU, threatening to veto accession for the central and eastern European countries if the island was not accepted.
“The Greek Cypriot administration will not sit at this table,” said Davutoglu. While the Cyprus Republic freezes Turkey’s negotiation chapters, “...is it possible to let them sit here in front of me on equal terms? Do not even let this to pass your mind.”
Realising that he had somewhat perturbed the Turkish official, Schwarzenberg apologised, saying he had been misunderstood.
Still livid, Davutoglu maintained that he hadn’t misunderstood at all. British Foreign Minister William Hague concurred: “What Mr Davutoglu understood is unfortunately, correct.”
Ashton added: “It is the first time I have seen you so upset.”
For those still in doubt, Davutoglu clarified: “Do not open this issue again. I will always tell you the same. Either you stress the need for the Cyprus problem to be solved, or do not bring any more this issue on the agenda.”
Still optimistic, Rasmussen suggested an informal meeting with Cypriot participation, to which the Turkish minister replied: “I told you, the Greek Cypriot administration cannot sit in front of me in an official level.”
He added that Cyprus would not become a NATO member until a solution is found.
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/turkey/turki ... n/20110419
The full exchange can be found here including Davutoglu's remarks on Turkish frustration at its faltering EU accession:
http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/tcpr/201 ... pr.html#15
