Abdullah Gul doesn't rule out Turkey's refusing EU membershipMay 1, 2011 - 15:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On the threshold of his visit to Austria, Turkish President Abdullah Gul delivered a statement on Turkey's EU bid. “Turkey might follow the example of Norway, eventually refusing EU membership,” Turkish President said. As he noted, in 2005, a joint agreement on the launch of talks on Turkey's EU accession was made, which obligates the Union to abide by the “pacta sunt servanda” principle. According to the President, obstacles set in Turkey's way to EU accession are both illegal and unjust. “Turkey meets EU standards. It's unacceptable to isolate the nation professing a different faith,” Gul stressed, expressing concern over manifestations of xenophobia, radicalism and Islamophobia, which run counter to European values, TRT Russian reports. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |