Terrorism to top agenda of Turkey-EU talks in Istanbul today

Terrorism is set to top the agenda when Turkey and the European Union meet today in Istanbul for a political dialogue meeting, the first such ministerial gathering since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force last year. Among other issues, Turkey is insisting on the extradition of senior leaders of the terrorist PKK from Europe. "Along with many other topics, we will also raise the issue of cooperation on terrorism," one diplomatic source said. "It's no secret that cooperation in this area, especially with the extradition of terrorists, is not satisfactory." Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the same point during a state visit to Serbia yesterday, saying, "The EU must extradite the terrorist organization's leaders." The PKK is officially recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the United States. In addition to terrorism, other regional and international issues will be discussed at the Turkey-EU meeting to be attended by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's chief negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele.