Al Masri: "Arabs look up to Turkey's EU reforms"

Speaking to Turkish reporters prior to King Abdullah II's visit to Turkey early March, Jordanian Senate Chairman Taher al-Masri said that the Arab world looks up to Turkey's reforms during its EU negotiation process. "Turkey flourishes with democracy. It will soon be among 10 major economies. You have done a really good job," al-Masri noted. The chairman stressed that as the Jordanian Senate they are willing to improve relations with the Turkish Parliament, yet they had to focus on domestic issues due to economic and political adversities until now. Criticizing the Arab countries, including Jordan, for their failure to implement essential reforms, al-Masri pointed out that the gravest danger in the Middle East consisted of fragmentations and the weakening state authority. The former prime minister of Jordan, al-Masri, warned that Syria might turn into today's Iraq once the conflict is settled, stating that sectarian and religious divisions are continuously being encouraged by some circles. "Jordan is a homogenous society but even here there is a slight danger of tribal fragmentation," al-Masri said, noting that a lot of countries outside the region want to collapse the Middle-Eastern mosaic model.