Gul and Silva hold joint press conference

President Abdullah Gul and his Portugese counterpart Cavaco Silva on Monday held a joint news conference after the delegational talks in Lisbon. During the question and answer session, Gul stated that there was an ongoing problem with the process in making a new constitution, but he said Turkey can make amendments to the existing constitution even if they did not have a wholly new one in the end. Gul also praised relations between Turkey and Portugal which both NATO members and thanked for Silva’s and Portuguese people’s support for Turkey’s EU bid. He also voiced his wish to see this support for the future. For his part, Silva stressed the importance of Turkey’s integration with the EU, saying, "We believe that Turkey’s negotiation process with the EU should be carried out with the aim of full membership and we hope that affirmative indications can be seen during the Irish term presidency which will start soon. Turkey and the EU have mutual strategic interests indeed. Turkey enjoys a very dynamic economy and is located in a very special geography where peace and stability are of ultimate importance." Furthermore, Silva praised Turkey for its efforts to overcome the Syrian people’s problems.