Italian Ambassador to Turkey Carlo Marsili has said that Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti had accepted a suggestion he made previously that Milan and İzmir, the two cities that were competing for EXPO 2015, should cooperate regardless of who ended up the winner.
Milan was chosen to become the host city for EXPO 2015 last month. Ambassador Marsili told Today's Zaman that he had sent a letter to the mayors of both cities before the vote and that winner Milan is now ready to cooperate, with a certain number of projects in common targeted for EXPO 2015. "In May we will go to Milan with a delegation from İzmir to start discussions to make this commitment concrete," said Marsili.
Marsili spoke with Today's Zaman before his trip to Italy to cast his vote in this weekend's early elections and observe the setting up of the new government. "I am going to Italy to remind the new government and the new foreign minister of Italy's very important engagements with Turkey," he said. The engagements Marsili refers to include the Annual Bilateral Governmental Summits to be held between Turkey and Italy. The first of these summits was to take place this spring, but due to a government crisis in Italy, and to some extent in Turkey, the summit did not make it onto the agenda. The Italian ambassador said this summit, of the type which Italy holds with Britain, Germany, France and Spain and that Turkey has with no country at all, would be a signal to other EU countries that Turkey is one of the most important of European countries for Italy and with which Rome has decided to have these summits every year. "The new government should do its best to arrange this summit either before the summer or at latest between the end of September and October," Ambassador Marsili said. Speaking about Turkish-Italian initiatives that need to be continued, Marsili has in mind the Dialogue Forum, which will mark its fifth session next November in Italy; the Media Forum, which was initiated last year in December in İstanbul and will continue as an annual event; and finally a prospective Italian-Turkish University to be built in İstanbul.
The Italian ambassador noted Italy and Turkey's common areas of interest and underlined the importance of the new government in Italy not underestimating them. "We have common interests in several geographies in the world. The Balkans are very important for Turkey and for us. We recognized the independence of Kosovo, as did Turkey. We have a military presence in the Balkan states, as is the case of Turkey. In the Middle East, Iraq's integrity and a possible peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians is important for us and for Turkey, and we should not forget Afghanistan, where both of our countries have troops and are committed to a peaceful situation," Marsili explained.
Asked about possible changes in Italy's foreign policy if the governing coalition changes in the Sunday elections, Marsili said that Italian foreign policy, especially regarding European Union issues, is bipartisan and had showed a consistency in past changes of government. "As far as Turkey is concerned, there was no change in our policy of supporting Turkey's EU membership in the last elections, and there won't be one in this election. We are absolutely against the so-called privileged partnership. We want the full integration of Turkey into the union, and we want a weightier Mediterranean presence in the union. The only way to make this is to have Turkey with us. For us it is a must, not an option. For us, the EU without Turkey is an incomplete EU," Marsili said, adding: "Of course [Silvio] Berlusconi has personal feelings about the Turkish prime minister. This is something unique and is based on a personal friendship."
Commenting on a slowdown of EU reforms in Turkey over the last one-and-a-half years, Marsili said the slowing down is sensed by all Europeans, but also that the reasons are understood. "It is inevitable in an electoral year, when you have to elect a new Parliament and a new president of the republic and when you have numerous political issues, that the reform process will slow down. I hope and believe that this process will again find its impetus as before. We have already received good signals of this," Marsili said.
Having mentioned the cooperative good relations between Turkey and his country, Ambassador Marsili returned to the issue of the letter he sent to the mayors of Milan and İzmir and explained that it was the only problem between the two countries and that he wanted to change the competition into a positive and not a divisive one. "You know, people asked me what city I stood for. Of course, I am the ambassador of Italy and I supported Milan. But my wife, who is Turkish, was for İzmir. This was also known in Milan, and I felt like someone who was undecided. The best way to get out of this was to forge cooperation between the two cities," he told Today's Zaman. Asked whether he expects any change in his post after the elections, "I was nominated to this post by Berlusconi, and [Romano] Prodi confirmed my position. So I hope I can stay here," Marsili replied.
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