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Hurriyet, Turkey
Sept 3 2012
Bağış invites Christofias on condition
ISTANBUL
Turkey's EU minister and chief accession negotiator, Egemen Bağış, has
unofficially invited Greek Cyprus President Demetris Christofias to
Istanbul - albeit with one condition: He must sit at the same table as
his Turkish Cypriot counterpart.
Bağış told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday that Christofias was
"looking for a reason to come to Istanbul" and that he should talk to
Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu about the possibility of
coming to Istanbul to watch a Europa League game between Fenerbahçe
and Greek Cypriot club AEL Limassol scheduled for Nov. 8.
"I will be happy to be the host provided that they will come together
and sit at the same table," Bağış said in a phone interview.
Football has played a significant role in Turkish foreign diplomacy in
the past, with national team matches against Armenia in 2008 and 2009
paving the way for failed reconciliation efforts between the two
countries.
Fenerbahçe, which was relegated to play in the Europa League after
being knocked out of the Champions League playoff round on Aug. 29,
was drawn in Group C of the competition along with AEL Limassol,
France's Olympic Marseille and Germany's Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Fenerbahçe is scheduled to travel to Greek Cyprus on Oct. 25 and the
experience might be difficult when considering Turkish clubs' earlier
visits to the island.
Bağış also highlighted the possibility of protests against the Turkish
club. "When Galatasaray went there, they had major troubles," Bağış
said. "The problems they faced were the result of a non-state. Maybe
they should seek help from Turkish Rep. of Northern Cyprus for the
Fenerbahçe game."
Last year, Galatasaray women's volleyball team was subjected to debris
thrown from the stands during a game with Apollon Limassol, and there
were similar attacks during Pınar Karşıyaka's basketball match against
APOEL.
The minister made assurances that the Greek Cypriot team would not
face such troubles in the game in Istanbul.
"They should not be worried, they will be hosted in Istanbul in the
best way possible," Bağış said. "I personally guarantee that there
will not be any problem."
It is too early to speculate whether the Europa League games between
the Turkish and Greek Cypriot clubs could lead to a kind of "football
diplomacy" similar to the one between Turkey and Armenia.
In September 2008, Abdullah Gül became the first Turkish president to
visit Armenia when he traveled to Yerevan for a World Cup football
qualifier. In the aftermath, the two countries agreed on a road map to
re-establish diplomatic relations, including a plan to reopen the
border.
An accord was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries,
Ahmet Davutoğlu and Eduard Nalbandian, on Oct. 10, 2009, in Zurich,
and President Serzh Sargsyan subsequently returned the favor,
traveling to Turkey to watch the teams' second qualifier against each
other four days later.
However, the reconciliation efforts were damaged in subsequent months
when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkish
ratification of the protocols depended on a peace deal in
Nagorno-Karabakh. Sargsyan announced the suspension of the
ratification process in April 2010 on a request from the ruling
coalition.
September/03/2012
Sept 3 2012
Bağış invites Christofias on condition
ISTANBUL
Turkey's EU minister and chief accession negotiator, Egemen Bağış, has
unofficially invited Greek Cyprus President Demetris Christofias to
Istanbul - albeit with one condition: He must sit at the same table as
his Turkish Cypriot counterpart.
Bağış told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday that Christofias was
"looking for a reason to come to Istanbul" and that he should talk to
Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu about the possibility of
coming to Istanbul to watch a Europa League game between Fenerbahçe
and Greek Cypriot club AEL Limassol scheduled for Nov. 8.
"I will be happy to be the host provided that they will come together
and sit at the same table," Bağış said in a phone interview.
Football has played a significant role in Turkish foreign diplomacy in
the past, with national team matches against Armenia in 2008 and 2009
paving the way for failed reconciliation efforts between the two
countries.
Fenerbahçe, which was relegated to play in the Europa League after
being knocked out of the Champions League playoff round on Aug. 29,
was drawn in Group C of the competition along with AEL Limassol,
France's Olympic Marseille and Germany's Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Fenerbahçe is scheduled to travel to Greek Cyprus on Oct. 25 and the
experience might be difficult when considering Turkish clubs' earlier
visits to the island.
Bağış also highlighted the possibility of protests against the Turkish
club. "When Galatasaray went there, they had major troubles," Bağış
said. "The problems they faced were the result of a non-state. Maybe
they should seek help from Turkish Rep. of Northern Cyprus for the
Fenerbahçe game."
Last year, Galatasaray women's volleyball team was subjected to debris
thrown from the stands during a game with Apollon Limassol, and there
were similar attacks during Pınar Karşıyaka's basketball match against
APOEL.
The minister made assurances that the Greek Cypriot team would not
face such troubles in the game in Istanbul.
"They should not be worried, they will be hosted in Istanbul in the
best way possible," Bağış said. "I personally guarantee that there
will not be any problem."
It is too early to speculate whether the Europa League games between
the Turkish and Greek Cypriot clubs could lead to a kind of "football
diplomacy" similar to the one between Turkey and Armenia.
In September 2008, Abdullah Gül became the first Turkish president to
visit Armenia when he traveled to Yerevan for a World Cup football
qualifier. In the aftermath, the two countries agreed on a road map to
re-establish diplomatic relations, including a plan to reopen the
border.
An accord was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries,
Ahmet Davutoğlu and Eduard Nalbandian, on Oct. 10, 2009, in Zurich,
and President Serzh Sargsyan subsequently returned the favor,
traveling to Turkey to watch the teams' second qualifier against each
other four days later.
However, the reconciliation efforts were damaged in subsequent months
when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkish
ratification of the protocols depended on a peace deal in
Nagorno-Karabakh. Sargsyan announced the suspension of the
ratification process in April 2010 on a request from the ruling
coalition.
September/03/2012