Turkish News: Erdogan hopes what happened in Iraq will not repeat for Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that it is Turkey's sincere hope that what took place in Iraq will not be repeated in Syria, Turkish News reported.

''We would not want to see our neighbor (Syria) in a difficult position. We want to help resolve problems,'' said Erdogan.

Erdogan appeared on Turkish television channel ATV last night and answered questions from young men and women. Asked about what Turkey would lose by becoming an European Union (EU) member, Erdogan replied that only time will tell what Turkey will gain and lose in the EU process. 'We are currently working on bringing our institutions to European standards,'' Erdogan said. ''I look at the EU positively, especially from the perspective of alliance of civilizations.'' Turkey's EU membership will eradicate xenophobia in Europe, said Erdogan.

Erdogan stressed that actual entry negotiations will start in March, 2006. '"The negotiations process is an extremely long one. Britain's entry negotiations lasted 11 years,'' commented Erdogan.

In reference to foreign investments in Turkey, Erdogan reiterated that tenders won by foreign investors bring many advantages to Turkey. ''There is no need to worry about foreign investments,'' remarked Erdogan.

In response to a question on the use of languages other than Turkish, Erdogan noted that each country has an official language. ''Different ethnic groups may possess different languages and dialects. Official language and mother tongue may differ. Written communication must be done in the official language as it would not be possible to conduct communication with all languages in a given country. Turkey's official language is Turkish. However, courses in these languages and dialects may be provided to those interested in learning,'' added Erdogan.