    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 15, 1999]
    [Pages 2090-2093]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Suleyman Demirel of Turkey and an Exchange With Reporters in Ankara
    November 15, 1999

        President Demirel. Distinguished members of the press, I would like
    to welcome once again in your presence, the President of the United
    States, my dear friend Bill Clinton. Mr. Clinton is in our country for a
    5-day visit.
        Taking this opportunity, I would like to, in Mr. Clinton's person,
    express our thanks to the American people for the support and solidarity
    they have shown during the disasters that affected our country, one
    after another, in recent months.
        The Republic of Turkey and the United States of America work
    together for peace, stability, and prosperity on a vast geography which
    extends from the Balkans to the Caucasus, central Asia to the Middle
    East, Europe to the Black Sea, Caspian, and the Mediterranean Basin.
        Earlier today we had an extensive exchange of views and opinions as
    two strategic partners. We discussed our contribution to regional peace,
    stability, and prosperity. We also reviewed areas where we can improve
    cooperation. We were pleased to note that both of us had the
    determination to evaluate new and broader avenues of cooperation between
    our countries.
        We explained to the President our activities in the areas of
    economy, trade, and energy, and the importance we place on cooperation
    with the EU in this context. We also discussed defense cooperation and
    regional security issues. We evaluated our joint projects together. And

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    we explored new possibilities for deepening our relations even further.
        And we listened to the views of the President of the United States
    regarding the opinion and attitude of the United States on these
    subjects. President Clinton shares our view that it's very important for
    Turkey--as a country where democracy, Islam, and secularism are proven
    to coexist--to become an EU member in order to realize the project of a
    pluralist, democratic Europe with rich diversity.
        In light of these views, we reviewed Turkey's relations with the
    European Union on the eve of the Helsinki summit. We explained once
    again to the President the assessment of the Turkish Republic regarding
    the European Union. We also expressed Turkey's contractual rights for EU
    membership. And we stressed our expectation from the European Union to
    focus on the proper perspective on this matter this time.
        President Clinton has confirmed continued support of the U.S. for
    Turkey's membership to the EU. I can say that the meetings between two
    friends and allies that have strong bonds were beneficial and productive
    and that we were able to review common areas of interest, attention, and
    action that are included in the broad spectrum of the Turkish-American
    strategic partnership.
        Our friendship with the United States is an important guarantee for
    the success for our common goals and ideals. This friendship will be
    fruitful in the future, and joint efforts by the United States and
    Turkey will bring further peace, stability, and prosperity to a vast
    geography.
        I would like to welcome Mr. Clinton once again and wish him a good
    time in Turkey. Thank you all.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I would like
    to thank you, the Prime Minister, and the
    members of the Turkish Government for your warm welcome here today, and
    reiterate the profound sympathies of the American people with the people
    of Turkey as a result of these two earthquakes.
        The President has summarized our meeting quite well, and so I will
    just briefly add a couple of points. We spoke about the coming OSCE
    meeting, which Turkey will host. It is fitting that Turkey would be the
    host in this final year of the 20th century, when the agenda for Europe
    is to build a Europe that for the first time in history is undivided,
    democratic, and at peace. For Turkey is the key to meeting all the
    challenges that remained of that vision of Europe: the challenge of
    integrating Russia, of stabilizing the Balkans, of bringing a real peace
    to the Aegean and Cyprus, of bridging the gulf between the West and the
    Islamic world. In these areas and more, Turkey and the United States
    should be partners.
        In that regard, I thank the President and the Prime Minister for the principled stand Turkey took in Kosovo and for
    Turkey's leadership today in bringing peace and prosperity to the
    Balkans.
        We also had a very good conversation about the hopeful progress in
    cooperation between Turkey and Greece, an issue of profound importance
    to the United States because of our friendship with both nations and
    because of our strong support for Turkey's full partnership in the
    European Union. I expressed my hope that the coming talks on Cyprus will
    bring us closer to lasting peace with real security for all Cypriots and
    an end to the island's division.
        We discussed the importance of continuing to integrate Russia with
    Europe as a strong, stable, democratic nation, and our shared concern
    that the mounting civilian casualties in Chechnya will hinder that goal.
        We talked about energy security in the Caspian, and I reaffirmed
    America's commitment to making the Baku-Ceyhan and the trans-Caspian
    pipelines commercial realities, and my appreciation for the leadership
    of President Demirel and others toward that goal.
        Finally, we discussed Turkey's progress in deepening its democracy
    and strengthening human rights. There has been impressive momentum in
    the last few years, and I hope there will be continued progress,
    especially in the area of freedom of expression.
        In closing, Mr. President, I want to thank you for your friendship,
    for your commitment to our alliance. And I want to once again reaffirm
    my personal strong support for Turkey's European Union candidacy as it
    moves forward in all the areas that we have discussed today.
        Thank you very much.

    China-U.S. Agreement on World Trade Organization Accession

        Q. Mr. President, on the WTO deal that you announced today, did
    China go beyond the concessions that it offered in April? And if so,
    could you say where and how far? And does this mean

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    that China will be able to have an active role in the WTO talks in
    Seattle?
        President Clinton. The answer to the first question is that we--I
    think the fair answer is that we finished a lot of the matters which
    were left unresolved when we were meeting in the springtime in
    Washington. I don't think it's fair to the Chinese or to the United
    States to give the inference that either one made massive new
    concessions.
        I think that there were matters that were still outstanding that we
    were able to resolve and work through, and I'm very grateful, frankly,
    for the leadership of Ambassador Barshefsky and Mr. Sperling on our
    side and for all those on the Chinese side. I think this is a good
    agreement for China and for America and for the world. I think that all
    of us benefit when the most populous nation in the world is now going to
    be part of a rule-based system that will bring shared prosperity.
        The answer to your second question--the short answer to your second
    question is I don't know. That is, I honestly don't know how this
    changes the specific formal role that China might play at Seattle. But
    as I'm sure you know, all the developing nations have been taking
    various positions on these issues. And I would certainly hope that the
    conclusion of this agreement between ourselves and China will lead to
    the rapid accession of China to the WTO and would lead the Chinese to
    urge other developing countries to take the same sort of comprehensive
    approach to their participation in the world economic system, because I
    think that will bring the quickest benefits to them and to the rest of
    the world.

    Allegations of Repression and Torture in Turkey

        Q. A question for both of you, please. Mr. President, what do you
    say to allegations of repression and torture in your country? And
    President Clinton, do you believe these allegations; are they a serious
    impediment to Turkish-American relations? And I speak now partly of the
    Kurds, but also other dissident groups.
        President Demirel. It is impossible to say that there is no torture
    in Turkey; there is torture. But torture is not state policy. Torture is
    a crime. And whoever commits this crime, no matter who that person may
    be, that person is investigated and is penalized accordingly. And I can
    say that we are doing everything we can to make sure that there is no
    torture.
        President Clinton. Let me, in response to your question, say that we
    believe that there has been a renewed and clear determination of the
    Turkish Government to take a stand against torture and to generally
    increase protection of human rights. There are some non-torture areas
    that we hope there will continue to be progress in, like freedom of
    expression. But President Demirel has faithfully stated, I think, the
    policy of the Turkish Government. And we are encouraged that the human
    rights issue is moving in the right direction in this nation.

    Turkey-U.S. Relations

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to ask, have you observed a
    rapid development in the Turkish-American relationship, especially in
    the last years? Can you briefly describe the current status of the
    Turkish-American relations from the point of view of America?
        President Clinton. Well, I would say from the point of view of
    America, they are very good. And I could give you some specific
    examples: one, our partnership in the Balkans, first in Bosnia and then
    in Kosovo, to stand up for human rights; two, our commitment to energy
    security in the region, and the support of the pipelines projects I
    mentioned earlier; three, the improvement in relationships between
    Turkey and Greece, something which has always been a little bit of a
    limitation on our partnership, because of our ties to both countries;
    and four, the economic and political reforms undertaken by Turkey in the
    last year and several months have been very impressive to us.
        So, for all these reasons, I would say that the state of our
    partnership is strong, and I just want the United States to be in a
    position to give more economic assistance and more political support as
    we move toward our shared objectives.

    Turkey and the European Union

        Q. Mr. President, could you please tell us how determined you will
    continue to be in supporting Turkey's efforts with EU?
        President Clinton. Excuse me. Did you ask me how determined am I to
    do that, or in what ways will I do that, or both?
        Well, let me say first of all, I am very determined to support
    Turkish membership in the EU for a very good reason. I think if you--any
    of you, including my American colleagues here--if you were to go home
    tonight and make

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    a list of the big problems you think the world could face in the next 10
    or 20 years, every one of them would be strengthened if Turkey were a
    full partner in a Europe that respected religious and cultural diversity
    and shared devotion to democracy and human rights.
        I might say that's one of the reasons I am so pleased by the recent
    improvement in relationships between Turkey and Greece and why I think
    it's so important to continue to make progress there, because the
    difficulties between the two nations are small when compared to the
    benefits of cooperation and European integration, both to Turkey and to
    Greece.
        As to how I intend to express my support, I will continue to talk to
    the leaders of Europe. I take every opportunity that I have to have this
    discussion. I feel very strongly that one of the four or five key
    questions to the future of this whole part of the world is whether
    Turkey is a full partner with the European Union. So I will continue to
    advocate it.
        President Demirel. Thank you.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 2:15 p.m. in the Presidential
    Palace. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit of
    Turkey. President Demirel spoke in Turkish, and his remarks were
    translated by an interpreter.