Gul receives support from Grybauskaite for Turkey's EU membership process

President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday held a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite after the delegational talks. During the press conference, Gul responded a question on the economic crisis in Greek Cyprus, saying, "There is at the moment significant economic crisis on the island. This should be seen as important opportunity. There is currently a new government in the Greek Cypriot administration. The parties on Cyprus should refresh the negotiations with good will. If the island was to unite, there would be a greater economic potential." Answering a question on the "wise men" who were selected by the government to solve the Kurdish issue in Turkey, Gul stressed that the more individuals, political institutions, and the country's important organizations get engaged in the process, the easier it may get to solve any issue. Touching on Turkey's EU membership bid, Gul said that they knew the negotiation process was always difficult for countries with a large population and a big economy. "Certain countries in the past experienced such difficulties in their negotiation process, but we attach high importance to keeping our EU process alive and the completion of our EU process successfully," Gul said. Gul also thanked President Grybauskaite for the support of the Lithuanian government and people to Turkey's EU bid. For her part, Grybauskaite said that Lithuania would support and make efforts to speed up Turkey's EU process.