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Danish FM says Turkey is more than EU candidate

04 May 2011 00:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Visiting Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen said Tuesday that Turkey, an important partner of European Union (EU) and a NATO ally, was a European country and a strategic ally more than an EU candidate country, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Speaking at a joint press conference after her talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Espersen said Turkey and Denmark were allies and had shared many common interests and values.

Expressing hope to raise trade between the two countries, Espersen said the Danish government attached great importance to strengthening the political and commercial ties.

Turkey was an important partner of Europe in the Middle East, Espersen said, adding that Denmark appreciated Turkey’s active role in the relations with Libya.

For his part, Davutoglu said that "although the bilateral relations between Turkey and Denmark progress well, the number of high ranking visits should be increased."

Davutoglu said Danish Queen made an invitation to Turkish President Abdullah Gul to visit the country and noted that talks between the governments and ministries of the two countries would continue to increase.

"There is a close cooperation between Turkey and Denmark in the fight against terrorism," he said.

Turkey’s relations with the EU was also assessed in detail, Davutoglu said, adding that "Denmark will take over the rotating presidency of the EU in the first half of 2012. We have underlined that Turkey expects loyalty to its principles. The EU should display a more open stance regarding the future course of the talks."

Davutoglu said the meeting also discussed the re-admission and visa procedures, and "also focused on recent developments in the region, mainly Libya."