Jagland: "Turkey's role has increased"

Speaking to the Zaman daily prior to his visit to Turkey, Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland said that if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was serious about his Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) proposal on a possible membership, not only the council he represents but also the EU which Turkey has aspired to be a member of for the past 50 years should worry. "Turkey's role has increased. Turkey today is seen as an important European and global player. I think political reforms and economic growth could not have happened without the reform efforts pushed by the EU. Turkey now also has economic muscles that should be taken into account," Jagland said. Underlining that he has always been in favor of Turkey joining the EU, Jagland said, "However, I think it would be a big mistake on the side of Europe if we were to lose Turkey and if we say Turkey does not belong to the European family. That would be a major mistake by Europe. Yes, there are problems and it may take time but please don't send the message that Turkey does not belong to us. That was what I wanted to convey." Touching on the Kurdish conflict and the terrorism issue, Jagland said, "There are so many people who cannot think of anything other than the conflict. Their whole lives have been devoted to the conflict. They want to keep the conflict alive. Thus, the process will always be open to provocations. We saw it in Palestine and Sri Lanka. Very often, extremists can kill the process. Often they are the ones who are dependent on the conflict. Turkey should be careful about provocations like the one in Paris. I was happy to see it did not actually influence the negotiations."