Kyiv Weekly, 12 November 2008

In an exclusive interview for KW, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkey to Ukraine Erdogan Serif Iscan told about Turkish tourists that visit Crimea, how many kilometers has Turkey to go to join EU and why Turks are delighted for Ukraine?

Does Turkey consider Ukraine a strategic partner?

In certain areas, I give a confident yes. The relations between Ukraine and Turkey are developing on the basis of multidimensional cooperation with a long term perspective. In that respect, I would define the relations between Turkey and Ukraine as strategic in nature and are progressing towards a strategic partnership.

When Ukrainians will be travelling to Turkey without visa?

As far as our bilateral relations and regional cooperation are concerned, visa regime is the only area that needs considerable improvement. At the moment, Ukrainian citizens can get visas easily at the point of entry on the border of Turkey and stay there up to three months. Turkish citizens are required to obtain visas from the Ukrainian representative offices in Turkey. Unfortunately, this is not that easy and Turkish citizens continue to experience difficulties at the border.

As a reminder, Turkey is the only NATO country whose citizens must be issued visas to enter Ukraine. This contradicts the very nature of our relations. It is not only a matter of Turkish citizens coming over here for cultural or tourism purposes. In order to expand investments in Ukraine, the visa regime for Turkish investors must be simplified. I would like to emphasize that the current visa regime is a deterrent to progress and is a form of discrimination against Turkish business people compared to their western competitors.

Our final objective is to introduce a visa-free regime between the two countries. Signing the agreement on visa simplification is an important step in this direction. The text of the agreement is almost ready and I hope that it will be signed in early 2009 if not by the end of this year. Turkey is prepared to introduce a visa-free regime with Ukraine on a mutual basis.

At the same time, is bilateral trade developing?

Trade cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine has improved over the past decade. The numbers speak for themselves. From 2001 to 2007, the volumes of bilateral trade grew from US $1 bn to almost US $6 bn. The target is US $10 bn by 2011, which I think can realistically be attained. In terms of trade, we face the following obstacle. From Turkey’s point of view, the balance of trade is overwhelmingly in favour of Ukraine. Indeed, the level of Ukrainian exports is US $4.5 bn, while Turkish exports are US $1.5 bn. We are delighted for Ukraine, but would like to see more balance.

What about mutual investments?

In this regard, Turkey is the leading partner between the two. Investments by Ukrainian business people in Turkey are minimal – only a couple hundred thousand dollars. We are encouraging them, but it is up to the Ukrainian business community to improve its interest in Turkey.

On the other hand, Turkish investments are running into billions of dollars.

By the way, official statistics reflect far from all. During the globalisation, money get international, and sometimes Turkish capital enters Ukraine via third countries. E.g. the mobile operator life:) - was originally a Turkish company, but official statistics attributes it to other source.

What about industry and construction?

I am happy to observe that large, dependable Turkish companies have a growing interest in Ukraine. Turkish investments in the construction business have reached US $2 bn. Prominent Turkish companies are building a new stadium in Donetsk, a bridge over the Dnipro River and a housing complexes in many parts of Ukraine. A Turkish company has already built the Kyiv-Odesa highway and now it is building the Kyiv-Lviv-Chop highway. In addition to that, a Turkish company recently won the tender for the construction of a new terminal at Boryspil International Airport. I attended the ground laying ceremony just two weeks ago.

In addition to that, food processing is another important industry. The renowned Turkish company Ulker owns a confectionery plant in Ukraine that has over 300 employees. Most of its products are also exported from Ukraine to many countries. There is also the textile industry. There are many Turkish textile companies doing business here.

As for bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector, this is my main task at hand.

As an indication of Turkey’s growing interest in Ukraine, every year we hold around 20-25 exhibitions and trade fairs with the participation of Turkish companies in Kyiv alone.

Is Turkey investing in the tourism industry in Crimea? Or does it fear that Crimea may become a serious competitor to Turkish resorts?

So far, the plans are mostly on paper, mainly due to the unstable political life in Ukraine and Turkey. Last year there were elections in both countries. In Turkey, we held presidential elections and soon afterwards parliamentary elections. Following the last year’s parliamentary elections in Ukraine, the situation has not stabilized yet. It is sometimes difficult to make progress due to lack of continuity between the interlocutors at the political level. Turkish business people are not concerned about their competition. The tourism industry in Turkey is doing just fine and we are delighted that our country is the number one tourism destination for Ukrainians. When a simplified visa regime is introduced between the two countries, Ukraine will experience a surge in the number of tourists from Turkey.

When will Turkey become a member of the EU?

If the EU is a 100-km road, in 2001 we were at the 40th km. Today, we are at the 80th km. To answer your question, I would say that Turkey does not expect to become a member of the EU sooner than 2012-2013. The EU is a project of common values in terms of democracy, human rights and market economy. It symbolizes the highest standards. We aspire to become a full member soon. It is a great incentive to modernize the society. Nevertheless, even without the EU, we must remain committed to move towards converging with the EU criteria in order to upgrade the standards for our peoples.

Clearly, today there are members of the EU that are no better than Turkey in terms of alignment with the criteria. Our position is that the EU is a common project in Europe and we believe that those countries that are geographically in Europe, including Ukraine, should be given the chance to join the EU when they are ready. After all, any relations are “two-way street” and, while the aspirants do their homework, the EU should not put up a barricade in this process.

Recently, the Turkish president attended a football match in Armenia. There seems to be a measure of progress in the relations between the two countries. Could this result in Turkey recognizing the genocide of Armenians?

The visit you mentioned is a sign of the beginning of dialog at the highest political level.

As to genocide, our position is very open. We accept that tragic events occurred in that part of the world – many Armenians, Turks and Russians died. Armenians have their own version. But the claims are not substantiated. We believe that history should be established on the basis of documented facts. I myself made a thorough research at the German archives and found no documents referring to genocide. Our archives have been declassified, while Armenian archives remain classified. We recently proposed to establish a joint commission of historians to establish facts regarding that period of history. We also expressed readiness to accept the findings of this commission. This is a very strong indication of transparency. We have not yet received a response to our proposal.

In the event that we learn about cases of human trafficking on Turkish territory, who should we call?

First, there is improving cooperation between the competent authorities of both countries. Also, we are about to sign a new security cooperation agreement which will update the legal basis in this regard. Personally I am committed to eradicate this terrible crime. Anyone may call me or the embassy or rather convey the information in writing. The telephone number is (+38 044) 281 0750, or fax 285 6423. I will activate the security services.

Interview by Serhiy Petukhov, Maryna Sholomova, KW