French President Sarkozy goes for visit to Turkey
08:50, 25 February 2011
ANKARA. February 25. KAZINFORM French President Nicolas Sarkozy pays on Friday a working visit to Turkey to discuss with the country's authorities regional and international issues, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. KAZINFORM refers to RIA Novosti.
The French president is expected to discuss in Ankara Turkey's drive for the European Union, a dispute over Cyprus, the recent developments in the Middle East as well as other regional and international issues.
Sarkozy has repeatedly spoken against Turkey's EU membership, offering the country in exchange a status of a privileged partner in the organization. Turkey, which seeks EU membership since 2005, rejects the French president's proposal.
CNN-Turk reported on Thursday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees Sarkozy's visit to his country in the capacity of the chairman of the G-20 developed and leading developing economies, rather than of the French leader. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version