ISTANBUL - Turkey`s EU membership is not only for the best interests of Europe and Turkey but also contribute to global peace, said Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hosting a fast breaking dinner in honor of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul, Erdogan said, "lack of dialogue among different cultures and religions are being misused by extremists. In such days, we, the politicians and religious leaders should contribute to global peace with our remarks and behaviors, not to exclude each other. My Spanish counterpart Zapatero and I have launched the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative in these hard days when violence and clashes have spread. And, we are walking towards the same goal with Germany. The Dialogue Among Cultures Initiative, promoted by our foreign ministers in September, is significant."
Erdogan noted that the target of EU project is to make Europe a strong and efficient global actor.
"Turkey has the capabilities to contribute to this goal. Turkey`s EU membership will show the entire world that it is possible to harmonize different religious beliefs and traditions with global values and principles. This unity will be a concrete example of the alliance of civilizations," he stressed.
On the other hand, German Chancellor Merkel said, "we have to allocate some time to listen to each other, and learn more about each other, particularly our traditions. Tonight is an important opportunity for me."
"We are attaching great importance to rapprochement of Turkey to the EU and integration of Turkey to the EU," said Merkel.
Noting that everybody living in Turkey and Germany have not only economic but also political responsibilities, Merkel said, "we are supporting establishment of a Turkish-German university in Turkey."
Merkel stated that they aim to establish new bridges between Turkish and German people. "We cannot ignore religious factors when talking about the people living in our country. Our interior minister launched a dialogue process with Muslim representatives last week, and this is the first initiative of this kind in Germany`s history. We aim to take under guarantee the religious activities of the Muslims in Germany, and to enable the community in Germany to have common values and live in peace," she said.
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