Diplomatic Diary: Turkey hosts African Union meeting
19/08/2008
"Support and Co-operation for a United Future" is the motto of the Istanbul summit this week. Also in diplomatic news: direct talks for the re-unification of Cyprus are scheduled for September 3rd, and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad visited Turkey.
 Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (centre) arrives in Istanbul on Monday (August 18th) to attend a summit of African leaders this week. [Getty Images] |
Istanbul is hosting a summit for co-operation between Turkey and Africa that began on Monday (August 18th) and ends on Thursday. All 53 members of the African Union received invitations to the meeting, and 50 are participating. The meeting, held under the motto "Support and Co-operation for a United Future", will also welcome Commission of the African Union Chairman Jean Ping. The summit is the first of its kind.
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Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said on Sunday (August 17th) that his meeting with <b>Turkish Cypriot</b> leader Mehmet Ali Talat will occur on September 3rd and will focus on the procedural part of direct talks for reunifying the divided island. Christofias said substantial talks will begin during his second meeting with Talat, scheduled for September 11th.
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday (August 13th) that the foreign ministries in Ankara and Moscow will quickly begin implementing a Turkish proposal to establish a pact for stability and co-operation in the Caucasus. Erdogan was speaking from Moscow, where he met with President Dmitry Medvedev and attended a working lunch with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
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Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad arrived on Thursday (August 14th) for a three-day working visit to Istanbul. The visit was not an official one, Turkish officials said. Ahmadinejad, however, met with President Abdullah Gul and other senior officials to discuss regional and international developments. They also talked about ways to boost commercial bilateral co-operation.
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High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Miroslav Lajcak met with General John McColl, NATO's deputy supreme allied commander in Europe and the EU's commander for Operation ALTHEA (EUFOR), on Tuesday (August 12th). They discussed the importance of continuing co-operation between the Office of the High Representative and EUFOR. Lajcak said the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between BiH and the EU and the arrest last month of Radovan Karadzic should mark the start of a new political era. McColl pointed out that EUFOR will continue to contribute to security across BiH in accordance with its Dayton mandate.
(Various sources 11/08/08-18/08/08)
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