Babacan visits Latvia

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met with his Latvian counterpart Maris Riekstins in Riga. Afterwards, he told reporters that the US, NATO and the European Union shouldn't take a confrontational stance in relations with Russia. He added that Turkey and Russia have a friendly relationship and that it is Turkey's biggest trade partner. He also said that Turkey will fulfill all the EU membership criteria by 2012 and then become a member. For his part, Riekstin said that Latvia, which joined the EU in 2004, fully supports Turkey's membership bid. Riekstin stated that Turkey's EU membership process isn't proceeding fast enough for either Ankara or Riga and that every candidate which fulfils the EU criteria has a right to join the bloc.