FM Davutoglu: "Turkey is a moderate force in the region"

Touting Turkey as a "moderate force," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey doesn't compete with any countries in the region, in remarks published yesterday. Speaking to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Davutoglu said Turkey has good neighborly relations with all countries in the region. "Our principles are clear: political dialogue with administrative offices, a peaceful security zone, economic stability, and harmony between cultures and faiths," he said. Asked why some EU countries oppose the prospect of Turkey 's EU membership so strongly, Davutoglu said: "Actually we don't understand why. It's incomprehensible when you consider the EU's basic values as well as Turkey 's historical relations with its allies. Historically, we're a part of Europe . There are some European countries that can't even write their own history without using our archives. Nobody can deny Turkey 's role in helping win the Cold War. We defended Europe during the Cold War era, but some Europeans think we should stay in NATO and not join the EU. They don't understand Turkey : Turkey isn't a tough power, it's a rising moderate force."