Chief negotiator Bagis holds talks in Madrid

State Minister and chief negotiator for Turkey's EU talks Egemen Bagis yesterday held talks with Diego Lopez Garrido, the Spanish Foreign Ministry's secretary of state for the EU, in Madrid, where he attended a summit of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. Bagis and Garrido exchanged views on Turkey's continuing EU accession talks, the opening of new chapters, and the Cyprus issue. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Bagis said they had a fruitful meeting, calling Spain a friendly country which supports Turkey's EU bid. "We discussed everything frankly and openly, I'm leaving Madrid with positive impressions," he said. Spain is set to take the EU's rotating presidency in the first half of next year.