Gul receives parliament's constitutional reconciliation commission

President Abdullah Gul yesterday received Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek and an accompanying delegation of the Parliament's Constitutional Reconciliation Commission at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Gul listened to evaluations of Cicek and commission members about the process toward the preparation of the new constitution, saying that it should be a comprehensive one which will embrace all walks of the public. "The new constitution should be based on a structure of democracy, secularism and rule of law. The state's principle of continuity should be preserved. If we try to seek agreement over details, we cannot get anywhere. It is better for you to focus on general terms," Gul said, adding that mutual respect and understanding in this process are of great importance. Referring to long enduring discussions over Turkey's accession to the European Union, Gul said, "The advantages and disadvantages of Turkey's accession have been analyzed in detail. Only after these discussions has Turkey's accession process been approved in our country." Gul also drew a parallelism between discussions on Turkey's EU process and the current debate on a presidential system, saying that these kinds of "very important issues should not be discussed simultaneously."