...

Turkish foreign minister snubs informal EU meeting in Bremen

Türkiye Materials 30 March 2007 15:10 (UTC +04:00)

( Cihan ) - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has decided not to participate in an informal meeting of the European Union that will start in Bremen, Germany on Friday.

"Mr. Minister will not be able to participate in the luncheon as his working schedule doesn't allow him to do so," said a statement from Turkish Foreign Ministry.

The Gymnich-type foreign ministerial level meeting is hosted by Germany, the current holder of the rotating EU Presidency.

FM Gul, along with foreign ministers of other EU candidate countries, was invited to a luncheon on the second day of the meeting, which is to convene with "relations with Iran" on the agenda.

The statement added that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan would instead represent Turkey at the luncheon.

Gul's decision not to attend the two-day meeting has been interpreted as an apparent reaction to Turkish government's dissatisfaction over the fact that officials from Turkey, which is an official candidate for the bloc, were not invited to celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the EU held in Berlin last week.

Gul has so far attended almost all of the Gymnich-type meetings to which he was invited. Moreover, these meetings served as an opportunity for Gul for holding bilateral talks with his EU counterparts on the sidelines of those informal meetings.

Latest

Latest