Gul: "All Balkan countries should be in NATO and the EU"

President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday expressed his support for the Balkans' integration into NATO and the European Union at a meeting organized by the Federation of Balkan American Associations (FEBA) and the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) in New York. Urging Balkan leaders to use dialogue and diplomacy to solve the region's problems, Gul said without stability there can be no cooperation in the region. One day, all Balkan countries could be members of NATO and the EU, he predicted. Also addressing the meeting, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan stressed that Turkey doesn't want a solution for the Balkans' problems imposed from outside. Citing Turkey's careful, constructive policy in the region, Babacan said Turkey is the only Balkan country in the G-20 and serves as a voice for the region in the bloc.