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Erdogan
described Ankara as “a guarantee of an entente between the civilizations.”
(AFP)
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CAIRO, December
13 (IslamOnline.net) - A few days before a crunch EU summit
that will decide on the future of relations with his country, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said allowing Ankara into the euro bloc will help bridge the yawning
gap between the West
and Islam.
“Turkey
is a catalyst to make sure we have harmony of civilizations. It is a
bridge between the Islamic world and the rest of the world,” he told
The Independent in an interview published on Monday,
December 13.
Erdogan,
who was recently named “European
of the Year,” praise his country as “a guarantee of an
entente between the civilizations.”
He
described Ankara’s possible membership in the 25-member EU as “the project of the
century.”
European
leaders will huddle together in Brussels
on Thursday to set a date for accession negotiations with the
predominantly Muslim, but secular, Turkey.
Erdogan
said his country expects an “exact date of the start of
negotiations” on “unconditional full membership.”
The
European Commission on Wednesday, October 6, gave Turkey
a
green light to start talks to join the European Union, but set
a series of tough conditions warning there was no guarantee of
success.
Turkey, an official candidate since 1999, has been waiting to join the euro
bloc for decades but its efforts have stumbled over its civil rights
record.
The
Turkish parliament adopted
last month a far-reaching overhaul of the country's 78-year-old penal
code, clearing a major obstacle to accession talks.
