Finland's Vanhanen: "Ankara's democratic initiative will help its EU accession bid"

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen paid a one-day working visit to Istanbul yesterday. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Finnish counterpart at his office at the Dolmabahce Palace. At a joint press conference after signing an agreement to eliminate double taxation between the two countries, Erdogan said that Finland firmly supports Turkey's European Union accession bid and that he believes this support will continue. "Turkey will continue to take determined steps as part of its EU reforms," Erdogan said. He voiced the government's determination to resolve the problems of Turkey's non-Muslim religious minorities, a key issue in Turkey's EU negotiations. "Our minority citizens do have problems," he acknowledged. "We need to focus on these problems with sensitivity." He cited his August meeting in Istanbul with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos and leaders of the small Armenian, Jewish, Syriac Orthodox and Syriac Catholic communities. The government is opposed to both ethnic and religious nationalism, he said, underlining that they maintain an equal distance from all ethnic and religious groups. Touching on the government's democratization initiative to solve the so-called Kurdish question or southeastern Anatolia issue, Erdogan said, "There are three dimensions of this issue. We will continue this democratization process in the short, medium and long term. This is a national unity project. We should keep all aspects of this together. All ethnic elements have their specific problems, so our citizens with Kurdish roots also have their own problems. We will deal with their problems with sensitivity. We should never forget that our main problem is terrorism." Erdogan also said he had briefed his Finnish counterpart on Turkey's ongoing efforts to normalize ties with Armenia. For his part, Vanhanen praised the democratization initiative, saying it would help Turkey's EU bid. "I place great importance on the Turkish government's recent democratic initiative and its efforts concerning the situation of minorities," he said. "I've also listened to Prime Minister Erdogan's statements concerning the normalization of relations with Armenia with interest. These efforts will help Turkey's EU membership process." He further pledged that his country's firm support for Turkey's EU bid would continue