Gul continues his contacts in Germany

As part of his contacts in Germany, President Abdullah Gul yesterday passed from Berlin to Stuttgart. Speaking to reporters, Gul talked about details of his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Gul said that he and Merkel talked about rooted Turkish-German relations, which should be brought to future, and that cooperation areas and a strong basis were established. Gul defined their meeting as considerably positive, saying that he reiterated that although Turkey's EU membership talks were hindered, a great many chapters were opened by Germany. "Merkel attaches importance to my speeches. She carefully listened to me. I stressed that the Greek Cypriot administration's EU accession without solving the border issue was a great mistake. In accordance with fundamental principles of the EU, a country with border issues could not become an EU member, but the Greek Cypriot administration represents the island without solving this problem. Merkel mentioned the same fact in July 2007 and even French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a declaration about the issue. After listening to me, Merkel said that Germany doesn't want membership talks to be hindered," Gul said. He added that he urged the EU not to remain indifferent to the Palestinian side so that talks could continue and that there remained no obstacle in terms of recognizing Palestine as a state. Furthermore, speaking to the local press in Stuttgart, Gul recalled the Right to Return Home Law and called on the PKK to lay down arms and go back to their families. Some people lay down arms, apply to authorities and come together with their families this way, but some officials act as if these methods don't exist. "Merkel said that they would deal with the visa issue and defended themselves with regard to adjustment policy. In turn, I said to her that the two countries' economy is very healthy and we should bring success and potential to future, instead of negative sides," said Gul.