Turkish Forum

Category: Europe

  • Holidaymakers stranded in Turkey

    Holidaymakers stranded in Turkey

    Up to 150 people have been left stranded in Turkey after the collapse of a north London-based tour operator.

    K&S Travel, which also trades under the name Travel Turkey, organises package tours to the country through flights chartered with Onur Air.

    A K&S Travel spokesman said the firm would organise flights for those abroad when their holidays were completed.

    It is thought more than 85,000 people have been left stranded abroad after Friday’s collapse of XL Leisure Group.

    XL is the UK’s third largest tour operator.

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the holidaymakers were covered by the Atol protection scheme and will be entitled to a full refund.

    The CAA is understood to be rechartering planes from Onur to ensure the return of K&S passengers, most of whom are in the resort of Bodrum.

    But 460 people who have future holidays booked through K&S Travel will have their travel plans cancelled.

    BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Holidaymakers stranded in Turkey

  • Investors to put 7 bln euros in Turkey's Karaman

    Investors to put 7 bln euros in Turkey's Karaman

    A businessmen group, including investors from Germany, Switzerland and Holland, are planning to invest 7 billion euros ($ 9.95 billion) in Turkey’s central province of Karaman, Dogan News Agecy (DHA) reported on Saturday.

    The businessmen, who visited Karaman, allocated a 7 billion euros total amount of budget to invest in wind energy, bio-energy, stock-breeding and agricultural projects, DHA reported.

    According to report, sunflower-seed processing factories and stock-breeding in 200 square kilometers are among the planned projects.

    “The screening talks are ongoing. But, especially the wind-power project investment is being considered as important. Nearly 60 percent of investment comprises of wind energy… I estimate the infrastructure works will take shape in 2009 regarding the investment issues, in Karaman,” DHA quoted Koksal Gor, a member of Holland state parliament, as saying.

    Officials from Zurich Royal Bank of Scotland and Firma WIPA Investment Credit Suisse Bank were also included in the businessmen group.

    Source : Hurriyet

  • UN envoy cautiously optimistic on Cyprus peace talks_English_Xinhua

    UN envoy cautiously optimistic on Cyprus peace talks_English_Xinhua

    NICOSIA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary General’s special advisor on Cyprus expressed on Friday his optimism about the newly launched substantive negotiations aimed at reunifying the east Mediterranean island.

    Alexander Downer, the former Australian Foreign Minister, however, stressed that there was no doubt that this would be a very difficult process after all.

    “There has not been any successful conclusion to the Cyprus problem for many years, therefore it is not going to be a simple and easy process,” Downer told a press conference.

    He described the atmosphere of the first substantive talks on Thursday between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders as “good, friendly” and the negotiations are “productive.”

    Cyprus President Demetris Christofias, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met for more than four hours on the issues of governance and power-sharing.

    Downer added that he was encouraged by what he had heard not only from separate discussions he had with the two leaders and other political party representatives in Cyprus, but also from his meetings he recently held with officials in Greece and Turkey.

    UN envoy cautiously optimistic on Cyprus peace talks_English_Xinhua.

  • Lavrov never used foul language with Miliband – Russian ministry

    Lavrov never used foul language with Miliband – Russian ministry

     
    16:18 | 13/ 09/ 2008
     

    MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry denied on Saturday British media reports that the head of the Russian diplomatic body, Sergei Lavrov, used foul language talking to his British counterpart David Miliband.

    British media circulated reports on Friday night and early Saturday that Minister Lavrov scolded British Foreign Secretary Miliband and even used foul language as they discussed over a telephone the recent situation in Georgia.

    “It is inadmissible in the practice of diplomacy. The use of foul language either means insulting a partner or insulting a country, which he represents. Therefore, I categorically reject such insults against our minister,” Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman for the Russian ministry, said.

    He added that the ministry is preparing the full script of the conversation between the top diplomats and will soon publish it on the official website.

    A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said Britain will not comment on the conversation between Lavrov and Miliband, but will be very interested in what the Russian Foreign Ministry publishes on its website.

  • Swiss FM offers Turkey regular dialogue on PKK

    Swiss FM offers Turkey regular dialogue on PKK

    The Turkish and Swiss foreign ministers signed on Thursday an annex to a memorandum of understanding in Bern, Switzerland.

    Friday, 12 September 2008 07:48
    Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his Swiss counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey put their signatures under an annex to a memorandum of understanding, signed in the Swiss capital in 2001 that envisaged establishment of a political consultation mechanism between Turkish and Swiss foreign ministries.

    During the signature ceremony, Babacan said that two countries were broadening the mechanism of dialogue.

    “From now on, we will meet more often to discuss several issues like energy, migration, fight against terrorism, consulate affairs, culture and tourism,” he also said.

    In their tete-a-tete meeting, Babacan briefed Calmy-Rey on the militants whom Turkey wanted to be extradited from Switzerland and asked for support.

    Babacan expressed Turkey’s concerns over insufficient cooperation between the two countries in countering terrorism.

    “Under which name it operates, PKK is a terrorist organization,” Babacan told his Swiss counterpart.

    In return, Calmy-Rey said that Switzerland did not have a black list but this did not mean that her country was weak in fight against terrorism, and condemned all types of terrorism.

    Calmy-Rey said that her country was not one embracing terrorism, and proposed to set up a regular dialogue between the two countries, send experts to Turkey, and establish a firmer cooperation between Turkish and Swiss justice ministries.

    AA

    Source: www.worldbulletin.net, 12 September 2008

  • AFP: Cyprus rivals begin key phase of peace talks

    AFP: Cyprus rivals begin key phase of peace talks

    NICOSIA (AFP) — Rival Cypriot leaders began talks on Thursday on how to share power in a future unified state, their first substantive negotiations in a bid to end the Mediterranean island’s 34-year division.

    President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat discussed power-sharing and governance during what UN envoy Alexander Downer called “productive and fruitful talks.”

    The four-hour meeting at Nicosia’s abandoned airport in the UN-patrolled buffer zone followed the launch last week of official negotiations seen as the best chance of peace for years despite entrenched differences.

    “We began negotiations on the substance of governance and power-sharing. The talks have been productive and… fruitful,” Downer said, adding that the leaders would meet again on September 18.

    “There are no particular timelines agreed, but the two leaders are doing what they can to push the process ahead at the appropriate speed. There’s a long way to go.”

    Afterwards Christofias was reluctant to comment on how the meeting went. “This is not the time to say whether I’m pleased or not.”

    AFP: Cyprus rivals begin key phase of peace talks