Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Bush urges EU to let Turkey join

US President George W Bush has stepped up pressure and urged the European Union to open membership talks with Turkey and for a return ‘favor’ I would surmise Turkey is to be more compliant and let the United States expand its military presence in Turkey as a means to widen the war and attack Syria and/or Iran after the election.
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Bush, if this is correct, has moved from blackmail regarding the Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline which would bypass Turkey, to using his influence to gain Turkey’s long sought after membership in the EU in order to get Turkey to comply.

At present, Iraqi oil is being shipped via Turkey to a small Mediterranean port near the Syrian border.

Ankara, which considers the transit fee it collects an important source of revenue, has warned Israel it would regard the talked-about Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline as "a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli relations."

Haaretz quoted sources as saying reports about the alternative pipeline are part of an American "attempt to apply pressure on Turkey" which had opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and is still reluctant to commit troops to the neighboring country to ease the burden on American forces.
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Bush urges EU to let Turkey join


From correspondents in Ennis, Ireland
June 27, 2004

US President George W Bush urged the European Union to open membership talks with Turkey, saying it met standards for joining the continent-wide club.

Speaking to reporters after an EU-US summit at Dromoland Castle in western Ireland, Bush said Turkey was a "proud nation that successfully blends a European identity with Islamic traditions".

"Turkey meets the EU standards for membership," he said. "The EU should begin talks that will lead to full membership for the Republic of Turkey."

Bush headed to Turkey after the meetings. There he will attend a NATO summit and hold bilateral talks with Turkish leaders, where the issue is expected to come up again.

Bush has long urged Europe to open its doors to Turkey, which the United States wants to keep as a key ally, especially after the war in Iraq.