Gül: We Expect the EU to Abide by the Pacta Sunt Servanda Principle

During the joint press conference he held along with President Sarkozy of France, President Gül averred: “Our expectation from the EU is that as part of the principle of the pacta sunt servanda, it must keep the promises it has given to us and that it must furnish an occasion for us to culminate the negotiations process with success.”  President Abdullah Gül welcomed the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, arriving in Turkey to pay a working...

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GORBACHEV SAYS MIDDLE EAST EVENTS SIGN OF CHANGING WORLD

The wave of uprisings in the Middle East is also closely monitored by international political circles. The last Head of State of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev likened the uprisings in the Arab world and North Africa to the "demise of Communism."  Gorbachev, who will turn 80 next week, told a news conference that there are many similarities between the people's movements that started in Tunisia and Algeria and continue spreading across...

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BRIC now becomes BRICS with entry of South Africa: Pranab

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has confirmed that South Africa was the latest entry in the BRIC-Brazil, Russia, India and China association of countries. He said this at Paris, the French capital on Friday. Interacting to mediapersons, he said that the delegates of the different BRIC countries, henceforth BRICS with the entry of South Africa, exchanged their views on common financial issues during the multilateral meet. “Yes...

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Turkey, Jordan sign nuclear cooperation deal

Resource-impoverished Jordan says its peaceful nuclear program, supported by the United States, is imperative for electricity generation and exploring other cost-effective alternative sources. Jordan and Turkey have signed a nuclear cooperation agreement paving the way for closer ties between the two countries.  Resource-impoverished Jordan says its peaceful nuclear program, supported by the United States, is imperative for electricity generation...

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SYRIA PLANS TO BUILD FIRST NUCLEAR POWER PLANT BY 2020

The Damascus administration says that it will reach the level by 2020 where it can produce its own fuel. A document sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency by the Syrian Atomic Energy Agency says that Syria's electricity requirement will increase by 33 percent in the next four years.  According to this document, Syria is planning to raise the number of its hydroelectric power plants to fill the energy gap bound to rise in the forthcoming...

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Turkey-Iran: Two Countries with Very Steady Relations

Holding a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, President Gül proclaimed Turkey and Iran to be two neighbors with the borders that have not been changed since 1639, adding: “It is hard to find any other two countries sharing borders as old as these and enjoying such steady relations throughout the world.” President Abdullah Gül, paying an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, was welcomed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...

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Mubarak resigns as president & hands power to army

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down and named a military council to run the country's affairs, state television said on Friday after 18 days of mass protests against his rule. Egypt's higher military council said it would announce measures for a transitional phase after Mubarak stepped down. In a statement, titled "Communique No. 3", it praised Mubarak for stepping down "in the interests of the nation" and said it "salutes the...

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Will protests have domino effect in Arab World?

The Arab world has been transfixed by the recent dramatic events in Egypt and Tunisia. Popular street protests have swept across Egypt just days after similar protests saw Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali flee his country. Could a domino effect sweep more leaders from power as it did around Eastern Europe in 1989? After the Jasmin Revolution in Tunis, Egypt may face with a revolution against the governance of President Hosni Mubarak....

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South Korea and North Korea hold first military talks since island attack

Military officers from South and North Korea held preliminary talks Tuesday to lay groundwork for a higher-level meeting, officials here said, the first inter-Korean dialogue since the North's deadly bombardment of a South Korean border island.    The talks at the border truce village of Panmunjom recessed as of 10:54 a.m. after nearly an hour-long morning session, said Kim Min-seok, a spokesman at the South's Defense Ministry....

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Cambodia,Thailand reach ceasefire agreement

Thai and Cambodian soldiers have agreed to end ongoing fighting at their disputed border, which erupted Friday while five Thai soldiers reported captured at a coordination point at Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda have returned from the area, a Thai army spokesman said Saturday. The five were posted at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda and were assigned to coordinate with Cambodian soldiers. Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the agreement...

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“Turkish-Nigerian relations bear strategic importance”

President Gül, during the joint press conference he held with President Jonathan, averred Nigeria to be one of Africa’s linchpins, sharing that there is much to do mutually in terms of the economic relations between Turkey and Nigeria. President Abdullah Gül along with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan held a joint press conference on the occasion of the Nigerian President’s  visit to Turkey. FIRST PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO TURKEY FROM NIGERIA...

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South Korea and North Korea agree to hold working-level military talks on February 8

South and North Korea agreed to hold working-level military talks on Feb. 8, officials said Tuesday, in what would be their first dialogue since the North's deadly artillery attack on a border island last November.    North Korea sent a notice to the South's defense ministry earlier in the day, proposing the new date for the preliminary talks, and the South accepted it in a reply message, ministry officials said.   ...

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Jordan king names new PM amid protests

Jordan's Royal Palace says the king has sacked his government in the wake of street protests and has asked an ex-army general to form a new Cabinet. King Abdullah II of Jordan named Maruf Bakhit as prime minister on Tuesday with orders to carry out "true political reforms," the palace said, after weeks of opposition protests demanding change. "King Abdullah II designated Maruf Bakhit to form a new government to replace the government of Samir...

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